A woman who woke up from a night out covered in mysterious bruises was horrified to be diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia.

Thea Wilson, from Burwarton, Shropshire, woke up from a night out covered in huge purple and yellow bruises all over her body in October last year.

The 37-year-old had stayed sober the whole evening and so she knew she had not fallen over and that nobody had knocked her particularly hard on the dance floor.

When the marks hadn't subsided a few days later, she went to her GP, who initially misdiagnosed her with a platelet disorder, which can cause large bruising.

But luckily the GP referred her to hospital for a bone marrow biopsy, and when the results came back Miss Wilson was dealt the devastating blow she had a rare form of leukaemia.

Doctors said it was a 'medical emergency' as she was suffering from Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia (APML) - a very rare form of the blood cancer that affects only 100 people per year.

She was rushed to an isolation room in hospital for intensive chemotherapy, as her blood wasn't clotting properly, leaving her in danger of internal bleeding.

Miraculously, after six months of treatment, she has been told she is in remission and now hopes to raise money for the hospital that saved her.

Miss Wilson, who works in medical sales, said she had been feeling 'under the weather' for months, but had no idea she was ill.

But she was shocked to wake up from a night out covered in giant, nasty-looking bruises.

'I had no idea where these bruises had come from,' she said.

'They were big and purple and all up my arms and legs.

'I'd been getting little ones for a few weeks but nothing like that.'

She went to the doctor, who said it must be a problem with her platelets, little pieces of blood cells that help wounds heal and prevent bleeding by forming blood clots.

But the doctor also referred her to hospital for a bone marrow biopsy.

Miss Wilson was reassured the bruises were nothing to worry about, and even ran a 10km run on December 4th.

But she felt exhausted, and wondered why she no longer had as much energy as before.

That same day, she was called to hospital to receive the results of her biopsy, something she believed was simply a courtesy.

But a doctors sat her down and informed her she had a rare form of leukaemia and needed immediate treatment.

She said: 'When they told me I had leukaemia my world fell apart.'

'I went to the doctors but because I didn't tick any of the other boxes for leukaemia, such as exhaustion.

'When they sat me down and told me I was seriously ill, I didn't know what to do.

'All of a sudden they told me I had aggressive leukaemia, I was a medical emergency and my hair was going to fall out.

'All I could do was turn to my mum and say "I'm sorry".'

The test revealed she had a platelet count of just nine, when healthy people's is normally between 140 to 400. Within 24 hours, she was taken to an isolation room in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, and started on a five month routine of intensive chemotherapy and All Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) - a form of Vitamin A.

In addition, she was given usually Fresh Frozen Plasma, Fibrinogen and platelets to improve her blood's capability to clot.

'I was so very lucky,' she said.

'If I had fallen running, or been kicked by my horse, I could have died.

'I had no idea that getting me through the first month was a challenge in itself.

'I was allowed to be out for Boxing Day but I was so used to my isolation bubble it felt dangerous I just wanted to go back into hospital.'

Less than six months after her diagnosis, Miss Wilson was given the news she had entered into remission, and she was overjoyed.

To celebrate, she entered the Race For Life, to raise money for the haematology department of the Royal Shrewsbury that had saved her.