Teacher's horror diagnosis after pharmacist instantly recognises set of symptoms

A nursery teacher who was given antibiotics for a sore throat discovered she had something much worse after her pharmacist recognised her symptoms.

Natalie Forrest, 40, had been suffering from a sore throat, high temperature and urine infection for a week when she went to collect the drugs from her chemist.

But it was there that the pharmacist on shift, who had herself previously battled leukaemia, urged Natalie to go back to her GP immediately to be tested for the disease and report her symptoms.

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After tests found she had abnormal blood cells, five days later she was admitted to hospital where a bone marrow test confirmed the shock blood cancer diagnosis.

Natalie's brother John, 38, said she was started on an aggressive chemotherapy treatment plan two weeks after being diagnosed.

He told the Daily Record: "We will be eternally grateful to the pharmacist who helped save Natalie's life. She was given chemotherapy three times a week for ten consecutive days.

"The plan was for her to get three rounds before the specialists could decide if she needed a stem cell transplant.

"She was responding well to the treatment and we were hoping to build up her health and bring her home before she started another round."

On November 1 Natalie, from South Lanarkshire, collapsed twice and began passing and vomiting large amounts of blood.

She was given multiple blood transfusions in a bid to keep her alive. Medics discovered a blockage in her small bowel, but surgery was considered too risky and the only safe treatment was to render her nil by mouth.

The childcare worker's health eventually stabilised and her family were told her first round of