A mum-of-four was all set to take off with her family for a dream holiday when she received a gut-wrenching call from her doctor advising her against flying. "I'd been walking up hills only days before and wasn't feeling unwell," Michelle Gidion shared. "I didn't want to spoil things for my sons, but as it turned out it was the wrong call to make." Back in February 2023, Michelle had noticed some bruising and fatigue but brushed it aside. It was her pal Pamela who insisted she get checked by a GP. Following her friend's advice, Michelle went for a check-up and had her blood tested – a decision that would pivot her life's direction. "Pamela saved my life by making me go and get checked out. I put the bruising down to having a very active lifestyle, but now I realise it wasn't normal," Michelle recounted. "Running a home with four boys was always hectic so I didn't think being tired was unusual.", reports Cheshire Live . Michelle and her hubby Simon, tied the knot eight years ago and share a passion for motorsport, particularly Formula One – they've even named their lads after legendary drivers: 21 year old Ayrton, Jenson aged 20, Rubens who's 18, and 16 year old Mika. The Macclesfield clan were all geared up for their dream holiday to the French Alps that May, a much-anticipated first getaway in four years. However, as they lingered at the airport waiting for their flight, Michelle received a life-altering phone call with her test results following that critical GP visit. The call was from a haematologist dropping the bombshell that blood tests unveiled she had leukaemia. The consultant urged her against flying due to dangerously low platelet levels in her blood, warning an accidental injury could lead to fatal bleeding. Struck by the news, the family faced an agonising decision on the spot. Driven not to wreck their long-awaited holiday, they daringly decided to go ahead with the flight. "I didn't know anyone who had had leukaemia and had no idea how dangerous it was to travel," Michelle recounted. "I'd been walking up hills only days before and wasn't feeling unwell. I didn't want to spoil things for my sons, but as it turned out it was the wrong call to make." Soon after landing in France, the stress of the ordeal took its toll, causing Michelle to fall ill, and the family bolted back home within 24 hours. From the plane, she was whisked straight to A&E, followed by an urgent 48-hour stay there before being moved to The Christie cancer hospital. Michelle spent five days in the hospital, where a bone biopsy revealed she had an aggressive type of blood cancer, AML (acute myeloid leukaemia), which affects the blood and bone marrow. She immediately began a course of chemotherapy, to which she initially responded well and achieved remission. However, her relief was short-lived, as the cancer recurred after just five months. To combat the disease, Michelle's medical team recommended a stem cell transplant. Fortunately, a perfect match was found through the international register, and the procedure took place in March 2024. Unfortunately, Michelle experienced a reaction, leading to a challenging five-week stay at The Christie hospital. Her treatment was further complicated when she required laser eye surgery at Manchester Eye Hospital to correct vision problems caused by the treatment. Despite the transplant procedure's 80 per cent success rate, given her age and fitness level, the results of a biopsy in May 2024 delivered the devastating news that the procedure had been unsuccessful. Michelle reflected: "I've been super active all my life. I was a fitness freak in my 20s and I was regularly walking near our home in the foothills of the Pennines on the edge of the Peak District. We are just a very outdoorsy family, so this diagnosis really turned our lives upside down." Michelle was weak, drained of energy and could barely muster the strength to walk. Her options were dwindling, but she refused to surrender. In July 2024, the mother-of-four was given the opportunity to partake in research at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at The Christie in Manchester. Fast forward two years from her diagnosis, Michelle, now 56, is in complete remission. There's no trace of cancer, all thanks to a groundbreaking experimental drug. She enrolled in an international clinical trial named CAMELOT-1. This early phase study focuses on a new kind of targeted cancer drug called bleximenib, a menin inhibitor. Researchers have discovered that a protein known as menin plays a crucial role in aiding the survival and growth of leukaemia cells in certain types of the disease. Menin inhibitors are drugs that block this protein, making it more difficult for the leukaemia cells to multiply. Without the support of menin, these malignant cells weaken and eventually perish, allowing the body to start producing healthy blood cells once again. Michelle began taking two tablets of the trial drug every morning and evening, and started visiting The Christie every four weeks for monitoring. In November of the previous year, and again in February of this year, Michelle received a DLI (donor lymphocyte infusion) from the same stem cell donor to help bolster her new immune system from the bone marrow transplant. Michelle gleamed with optimism as she shared the fantastic news, saying: "The trial feels like there's light at the end of a very long dark tunnel. The drug, together with the DLIs, has got me to a place where I feel a lot better and gradually I'm getting my energy levels back. Research is so important. When offered the trial there was no way I wasn't going to say yes to it. I just want to be alive, so I grabbed it with both hands." 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