She grew up longing to have a baby one day, but believing it would be impossible.
Nieka Chetwyn was a child when she became a victim of one of Britain's worst cancer misdiagnosis scandals and was told the gruelling treatment had probably left her infertile.
Today, however, 25-year-old Nieka and her family are celebrating what they say is a 'miracle' after she gave birth to a healthy boy. Son Joscar arrived two weeks early on December 17 weighing 7lb 14oz.
Simply wonderful: Nieka Chetwyn with Joscar
In 1993, when she was eight, Nieka's plight was highlighted on the front page of the Daily Mail after she lost her hair to chemotherapy. She was given the aggressive treatment based on a consultant's incorrect diagnosis of her cancer and doctors had to break the news that she would almost certainly never have children.
Thousands more patients' test results had to be rechecked and scores received compensation after doctors discovered they may have gone through the trauma of cancer treatment unnecessarily.
Nieka's parents didn't receive a penny, however, as she had indeed been suffering from cancer, but of a different type to the one diagnosed.
Flashback: Nieka Chetwyn, from the Mail in 1993
With the help of dedicated cancer specialists Nieka was eventually given the all-clear, but no one ever dared give her hope that she would be able to conceive naturally.
'I remember walking with her at a time when she had no hair because of the treatment,' said her mother, Kären.
'She said, "But Mummy, I'd like to have a baby one day". It brought tears to my eyes. My husband told her, "We'll do whatever it takes, we'll even sell the house and get you the best medical treatment".
So for Nieka to have a child, and for us to have our first grandchild, it really is a miracle.'
Nieka, of Prestwich, Greater Manchester, and her partner Sean O'Donovan, 27, were shocked to find she was pregnant – not least because she was taking the Pill to regulate her hormones.
'I couldn't 100 per cent accept I was pregnant until I actually gave birth!' she said.
She was seven when a suspicious lump was found in her calf. Doctors carried out a biopsy which was sent to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham for analysis by Dr Carol Starkie, who diagnosed a Ewing's sarcoma.
After surgery Nieka had 18 gruelling sessions of chemotherapy at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. In the meantime concern was being raised at Dr Starkie's performance and she retired on health grounds as more than 2,000 cases were rechecked.
Tests revealed that Nieka had actually been suffering from a different type of cancer, called a rhabdomyosarcoma. But by now doctors had to persist with the original course of treatment.
Her father, Philip, said: 'The awful thing is that we'll never know if a less arduous treatment would have done the trick.'
