I forgot I had most cancers after being in a coma – I used to be heartbroken when docs recognized me for a second time
A young woman has revealed how she forgot she had cancer after waking up from a coma – and shares the agony of being told of her diagnosis for a second time.
Kirah Line, 23, from Cambridge, was just 21 when she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a type of blood cancer, in July 2022.
She was treated at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and supported by the Teenage Cancer Trust.
After undergoing four gruelling rounds of chemotherapy between July and December 2022, Kirah was put into an induced coma for three weeks after contracting sepsis.
When she woke up, Kirah was so confused that she didn’t realise she’d missed Christmas – and had completely forgotten about her cancer diagnosis.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Kirah described the shattering difficulty of coming to terms with the devastating illness for a second time.
She said: ‘I remember them asking me what day it was. And I said with a massive attitude, “obviously it’s nearly Christmas”. But it was actually way past Christmas.
‘Initially when I first woke up I was just really medicated, so it felt like I’d just woken up. But as time passed I kind of deteriorated and became really delirious. Things started coming back to me and I realised I’d been there for quite a while.
Kirah Line, now 23, completely forgot she had cancer when she woke up from a coma in January 2023 – and had to be told of her illness for a second time
Kirah said her life ‘changed overnight’ when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at just 21 years old
‘When I first woke up I’d been dreaming and I had delirium. I imagined all sorts of scenarios about why I’d gone into the coma. It felt really real.
‘And then she told me everything had happened because of “your chemo and cancer”. And everything started to come back to me. I actually felt a bit relieved because I’d forgotten I had cancer and I thought other things had led me to be in the coma.
‘It was one of the most difficult parts of that time, coming to terms with what was real and what wasn’t.’
Kirah had initially started to feel unwell at the start of 2022, getting frequent colds.
She was told by doctors to ‘take some Vitamin D’ and even convinced herself she was pregnant due to feeling unwell and the pressures of her restaurant job at the time, which had a big focus on drinking culture.
She said: ‘I was like, maybe it’s all in my head. I’m not going to keep going to the GP as it was kind of embarrassing. I felt like I wasn’t really being believed or like there was nothing wrong with me.’
That July, she went out for a drink and began to feel unwell after just having one. She threw up in her sleep and woke up with a rash all over her face but was sent away after going to A&E.
In total it took four months for her to be diagnosed with cancer – and was finally told the news after having a biopsy.
Kirah didn’t realise she’d missed Christmas after being in a coma for three weeks
Kirah is now studying for a degree in social work at Anglia Ruskin University after being forced to quit her job when she was diagnosed
Kirah was treated on the Teenage Cancer Trust wards and was relieved to be surrounded by people her own age. Kirah (right) is pictured with her sister
She reflected: ‘I don’t really remember what was said because I think I was just so shocked that I wasn’t really listening anymore after hearing the word cancer.
‘I remember them being really really kind and empathetic. They told me everything that was about to happen in the nicest way they could.’
Within a week, Kirah began treatment on the Teenage Cancer Trust young adult ward, spending 30 days as an inpatient having chemotherapy.
She said: ‘Everything kind of changed overnight. I wasn’t allowed to go to work from that day on, I wasn’t allowed to do loads of things because my infection risk was too high.’
Things became worse when she developed sepsis at the end of her treatment in December – waking up from her induced coma on January 6.
Kirah had to learn how to stand, walk and even eat again after she woke up.
She had a speech and language therapist and learned how to use the muscles in her mouth again, while dieticians helped to wean her back onto food.
After a couple of days, she was able to get out of bed again but said it was a ‘long process’ to learn how to walk. Even now, her right leg hasn’t fully recovered.
Kirah had to learn to walk, eat and stand again after waking up from her coma. Pictured with her friend Cerys
Kirah had initially started to feel unwell at the start of 2022, getting frequent colds
It took Kirah four months to be diagnosed with cancer, after initially being told to ‘take more Vitamin D’
When she was told she had cancer, Kirah said she couldn’t process the news
She told FEMAIL: ‘I’m definitely miles better than I was but I still have a heart condition from the chemotherapy. I’m also going through the process of being diagnosed with arthritis and I have a really bad pain in my right arm.
‘I think it’s important to recognise that especially with cancer patients there’s so many things that you have to live with afterwards.’
Kirah said that before her diagnosis she was a ‘really agile and active’ person, working in a restaurant.
She said: ‘There were so many things I took for granted, like how easy it was to get up out of bed.
‘Some days that isn’t an option or some days, with the way my arm is at the moment, I can’t put my hair up by myself. Sometimes I do look back and reflect on how things were so different before I got diagnosed.
‘It’s just life now and you have to be pragmatic and find new ways to deal with things and still have fun, and do the things that I did before.’
After her diagnosis, Kirah never went back to work – although she’s now working towards a degree in social work at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, where she lives.
As she continues to recover, she said she’s going to take things ‘slowly’ in the new year, using her energy to focus on her degree.
