A 22-year-old business founder who had a stroke caused by undiagnosed leukaemia is now unable to walk or talk but is “fighting” through recovery. Cleo Davies, founder of a dog walking and pet-sitting business, was found “staring into space”, unable to speak or move, in her bed by her boyfriend, Dan, 24, on January 8.
Cleo, who lives in Axford, Wiltshire, was rushed to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon where doctors discovered she had acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL), a type of blood cancer that affects cells called promyelocytes, which are white blood cells at an early stage of development. Further tests revealed that she had also suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot, which occurred due to APL triggering clots and excessive bleeding.
Her parents, Heather Davies, 48, and Lee Davies, 49 were told that the “first 24 to 48 hours would be touch and go”, and despite having complications such as sepsis, Cleo has defied the odds and kept fighting. Cleo’s entire right side is paralysed – she requires intensive rehabilitation so her Aunty Fiona Campbell, 45, a co-business owner, who lives in Glasgow, launched a fundraiser, which has raised over £24,000 to go towards her rehabilitation.
Fiona, who is speaking on behalf of Cleo and her parents, told PA Real Life: “When I heard the news, I thought: ‘Is this really happening?’ Doctors keep giving us bad news but Cleo is just beating the odds and keeps fighting, she’s so strong.”
Cleo was “having fun” with her friends on New Year’s Eve and showed no warning signs that anything was wrong in the days that followed. However, on January 8 2025, her boyfriend, who was staying over at Cleo’s parents’ house, found her sitting up at the end of the bed in the middle of the night “staring into space” and she was unable to speak or move.He rushed to Cleo’s parents’ room and alerted them.
Cleo’s parents immediately rang 999, but as they live in a rural area, an ambulance would take hours to arrive. With her boyfriend’s help, they carried Cleo to their car and drove her to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.At the hospital, doctors discovered she had acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) and further tests revealed that she had also suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot, which occurred due to APL triggering clots and excessive bleeding.
Cleo’s parents were told that the “first 24 to 48 hours would be touch and go” and doctors were unsure if she would survive – so, she was taken to intensive care for blood transfusions and platelet treatments. Fiona said: “Treatment wasn’t simple – normally, for a stroke, they would give you blood thinners, but they couldn’t do that with her because of the leukaemia – the two things were sort of counteracting each other.”
Doctors were unsure how long she had leukaemia, but explained that it was likely a “recent” development. Fiona took the next available flight from Glasgow to be by her niece’s side.“It was absolutely horrific,” she recalled.
“It was terrifying… on the first day, I got to hold her hand, and she would wake up for a wee bit and see me, and she was squeezing my hand, and then she would fall back to sleep again.”
As a result of the stroke, Cleo lost her speech and is paralysed on the right side of her body. Fiona said: “When we went down, the only thing that she could do was make a little noise.She was trying to talk to you.
“You could see her looking in your eyes, and she wanted to speak but she couldn’t. She also keeps dislocating her jaw… it might be because of the stroke affecting her muscles, but she has had to have braces fitted to hold her jaw in place.
“She can stand but only for a second or two, she needs to get all of the strength back in her body.”
Fiona has not seen Cleo since, as she has been pregnant and had a planned C-section on March 6 2025, preventing her from flying. However, she remains in constant contact with Cleo’s parents, video calling them as much as possible.
“You just feel so helpless,” Fiona said. “It’s been a living nightmare for them… I think it’s been really traumatic and it’ll take them a while to process it.”
Cleo began chemotherapy straightaway but after a week in hospital, she developed sepsis. Doctors were unsure of the cause and, again, did not know if she was going to make it – but, within a matter of days, Cleo made a full recovery.
Her future remains uncertain, but she has “repeatedly amazed and impressed the doctors” with her chemotherapy progress. Cleo is still in hospital and receives physiotherapy and speech therapy.However, her family feel she would benefit from a personalised plan.
So, Fiona launched a GoFundMe in the hope of securing private rehabilitation at Hobbs Neurological Rehabilitation Services. So far, the fundraiser has received over £24,000 in donations, and the family are “unbelievably grateful”.
Reflecting on the experience, Fiona believes there is a misconception about strokes. “People think strokes only happen to old people but it can happen to young people too,” Fiona said.“We were so shocked with it as well, so I think it’s good to get Cleo’s story out there so others can be more aware.”
To find out more about the GoFundMe, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/support-22-year-old-cleo-davies-stroke-leukaemia.