Mother, 35, discovers her cough that wouldn't shift is life-threatening ...

A young mum who thought her lingering cough was her body reacting to the stress of moving across the world was horrified to be told she actually had leukaemia.  

Louise Moreton, 35, who moved from Melbourne to Durham in 2017, was told she needed to start cancer treatment within 48 hours or she could die.

Australian Mrs Moreton, whose husband, Paul, is from northern England, first started suffering with a cough she couldn't shift.

But when her symptoms developed into inexplicable nosebleeds, weight loss and night sweats, she figured something more serious was wrong and went to a doctor.

Tests revealed she had leukaemia – blood cancer – and doctors said she couldn't go home and must begin chemotherapy immediately. 

Louise Moreton (right), moved from Melbourne to Durham, the home of her husband, Paul, 35 (left), when she discovered a cough she thought was tiredness was actually cancer

Louise Moreton (right), moved from Melbourne to Durham, the home of her husband, Paul, 35 (left), when she discovered a cough she thought was tiredness was actually cancer

A month after Mrs Moreton, an occupational therapist, had moved to England with her husband and their son, Leo, six, she began feeling run down.

She developed a nasty cough which wouldn't shift, and figured the stress of her huge move had weakened her immune system and she was suffering with a simple bug.

But, after experiencing worrying nose bleeds and night sweats, she had an urgent blood test on November 3, 2017.

From this she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a cancer of the white blood cells, and admitted to Newcastle's Freeman Hospital for six weeks. 

'To be told I couldn't go home and that I needed to start treatment within 48 hours or I'd die was so shocking,' she said.

'All I could think about was Leo. We'd all gone from the absolute high of moving to the UK to not knowing if I'd survive.'

Leading up to her mammoth move, Mrs Moreton, who met financier Paul while he was backpacking through Australia in 2007, felt fit and healthy.

She only started to cough and feel run down a month after arriving in the UK, when she also developed daily headaches, leading doctors to believe it was flu.

Mrs Moreton explained: 'I was very new to the country, so was trying to find a doctor and navigate how the system works over here.

'I went back and forth to a GP, but they still thought it was just flu.

'It got to the point where I began to question myself, thinking if this is just a virus like everyone is saying, why am I so weak?'

By late October, Mrs Moreton's health had rapidly declined, resulting in night sweats, breathlessness and weight loss.

Somehow, despite her symptoms making day to day life difficult, she had found a job working in a hospice, which she did for just one week and a day before things came to a head.

She recalled: 'I got home after a shift and was playing with Leo, when this wall of fatigue hit me like nothing else. I just couldn't get out of bed.

'That's when my nosebleeds began too, and I started to feel very scared. I knew something serious was happening.

'I made an appointment at an urgent care centre and Paul virtually had to carry me in, I was that sick.'

In November, Mrs Moreton had a blood test – only to be called four hours later with instructions to urgently get herself to the University Hospital of North Durham to meet with a doctor.

She added: 'He was fantastic, ready and waiting to assess me as soon as I arrived. I must have looked

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