Dad of Scots schoolgirl diagnosed with cancer after taking Covid test taking on gruelling 'Tour de France'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An inspiring Scots dad is taking on the gruelling Tour de France bicycle route inspired by his daughter who was diagnosed with cancer after having a Covid test.Allan Dickson's daughter Olivia, known as Liv, began suffering discomfort last year during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020.Allan and his wife Abigail, 46, initially put it down to either growing pains or the fact Liv had previously dislocated her knee.It wasn't until the then 12-year-old came down with a fever at school and was sent for a Covid test on November 16 2020 that the real reason behind the pain would be revealed.

The doctor carrying out the test noticed 'signs' that a more serious condition could be behind Liv's symptoms and she was taken to accident and emergency at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to undergo tests.

The family, from Glasgow, were sent home only for Allan to be called hours later.Liv was rushed back to the hospital where she was given the devastating diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.Allan, 54, described the shock diagnosis as 'the worst news any parent could ever hear'.

Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: " It was a bolt out of the blue. "In the back of my mind, when she was having issues with her joints, I thought maybe there is something there because there's a history with cancer in my family but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be that diagnosis."The brave teen would spend the next six weeks in hospital before being released home on Christmas Eve 2020.13-year-old Liv is just over a year into her two-and-a-half-year treatment plan, which includes chemotherapy sessions every week.Describing his brave daughter, Allan said: "She’s indomitable, her spirit is incredible.