A BRAVE four-year-old who doctors thought had trapped wind when she really had leukaemia is getting ready to go back to school.

Taylor Codling was taken to the Riverside Clinic, in Ipswich, by her concerned father, James, last year.

She was seen by the out-of-hours doctors service, which was then being run by Take Care Now (TCN).

Mr Codling, of Low Road, in Hasketon, near Woodbridge, was told to buy gripe water for his daughter, who was three at the time.

However, her condition deteriorated and their family doctor immediately referred her to hospital. Tests later showed she had leukaemia.

Since April, Taylor has taken a course of chemotherapy at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge.

Although more treatment is still needed, the signs are good and Taylor is now hoping to go to Woodbridge Primary School for three mornings a week.

Mr Codling, 32, said: “It’s been a nightmare, but we’re finally getting there.

“Taylor is doing really well. There have been difficult times, but she has been fairly bright throughout everything.

“In November, the tests came back all clear, so that’s a good sign. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the most recent ones are the same.

“After this batch of chemo – which ends on Monday – then there is just one more left. But she will still have to take chemo drugs after her treatment.

“We hope Taylor will be able to start three mornings a week at school. It depends on how she is feeling.

“We’ve been lucky. She had a virus, but shook it off. We had her home at Christmas which was nice too.”

Father-of-two Mr Codling – who also has an eight-year-old son, Callum – has raised his children alone since he split with his partner.

Taylor was originally seen by a doctor working for TCN, which has since been replaced by Harmoni as the out-of-hours provider.

A report of the incident has been sent to Mr Codling, who said he is still considering taking legal action.

“I just need to sit down with a solicitor so that we can go through it all,” he said.

Commenting at the time, a spokesman for Harmoni said they were aware of the incident and would be investigating.

He apologised to Mr Codling for any distress which may have been caused, but said he could not comment further because of patient confidentiality.