A grandmother who was diagnosed with a rare cancerous tumour after her ankle “looked a bit swollen” had to have her leg amputated, but she is now walking with a prosthetic and has achieved her goal of waltzing again with her husband. Shirley Parnell, 75, a retired production coordinator, who lives in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, with her husband, Lawrence, 76, a retired chartered surveyor, noticed a lump on her ankle in July 2022, and little did she know, it would lead to a devastating diagnosis. Shirley “assumed it would be something that (doctors) could fix”, but, after several scans, she was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma, a rare malignant cancerous tumour, and was told a leg amputation would be the only way forward. The mum of two and grandmother of two felt “shocked and in disbelief” as it “hadn’t even crossed (her) mind” that she was going to be diagnosed with cancer. After the surgery, Shirley had an “overwhelming sense of relief” and focused on getting better – to motivate herself, she set herself the goal of being able to dance with her husband again. But, while learning to walk again, Shirley was diagnosed with metastasis lung cancer and could not help but feel “a little bit cheated” as her parents lived until their 90s and she now knows “that’s probably not going to happen.” She did not let this get in the way of her achieving her goal, and in the middle June 2023, she danced with her husband again at a friend’s wedding and said she “had a real sense of achievement”. In July 2022, Shirley got her first warning sign of cancer when she experienced pain in her right ankle. Shirley told PA Real Life: “My ankle started to look a bit swollen – at first, I didn’t think anything of it as I assumed I had just knocked it on something in the house and not realised, but then I noticed a lump. “The lump kept moving around and the pain started to get more intense. So much so that I decided to go and see my local GP.” Shirley’s GP thought it could be a blood clot, so she was prescribed cream and tablets, but after a week, nothing improved. She was then referred to Watford General Hospital for a blood test and an X-ray. Shirley said: “I had just assumed it would be something that they could fix with some medication and the thought of something more serious didn’t really cross my mind. “It was only when they said that the X-ray had come back showing some abnormalities and they wanted me to have an MRI scan, a CT scan and a biopsy that I started to worry. “A few weeks went by, and I tried not to think about the results but then I got a call saying the results were back and they wanted to see me, and I just felt like it was going to be bad news.” At the appointment, Shirley was told she had spindle cell sarcoma, a rare malignant cancerous tumour which can develop in the bone or soft tissue. The doctor suggested that the only option for Shirley was to have her leg amputated to remove the tumour. She said: “As he said those words, I felt shocked and disbelief. “I thought at the time, only last week I was living my life normally, doing things I would come to take for granted such as walking to the shops or going to a Pilates class. “It hadn’t even crossed my mind that it might be cancer, let alone that I would lose a limb because of it.” So, on October 24 2022, at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, Greater London, Shirley had the surgery. She said: “I was very nervous going into surgery but funnily enough I was okay once it was done. “I just had an overwhelming sense of relief that that part was finished. “Everyone has always said to me that I am a very determined person and after the surgery, I just started to look to the future as I felt everything was getting better, so I focused on working towards that.” But, once her leg was amputated, Shirley could not help but feel like she had lost some independence. She said: “Before I could just pop out to pick up some essentials but I had to rely on others to help me, something I am learning to get better at. “I’m so grateful for my husband running me around though.” On January 27 2023, Shirley had a cast made for her prosthetic leg, and it was fitted a week later. She said: “Then came the long and challenging journey of learning how to walk again. “The staff at the Prosthetic Rehabilitation Unit at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital were amazing and their support was what got me through those first few weeks and helped me get used to my new way of moving. “I felt strange but excited with my new leg – it felt like it was a real step forward into being more independent.” When in physiotherapy, Shirley made it her goal to be able to dance at her friend’s wedding with her husband. She said: “My husband and I always loved dancing – he joked that we’ll be doing a jive, but I said maybe a slow waltz.” But, at the end of April 2023, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She said: “My parents lived until they were well into their 90s and I’ll be honest, I fully accepted with my family history that I would do the same. “So it came as a bit of a shock that I now know that that’s probably not going to happen. “I felt a little bit cheated, I suppose, but the other thing it has made me realise is that there are people a lot worse off than me.” Determined not to let the diagnosis impact her goal, Shirley practised walking even more, and at the middle June 2023, they danced together at the wedding. She said: “It was wonderful, I had a real sense of achievement, and being able to have a few dances during the evening was wonderful. “My husband was really proud of me too. “My family have been unbelievably supportive, I can’t thank them enough. “They were so happy for me that day.” Now, Shirley remains under the hospital’s care, having regular scans, and has since passed her driving assistance test. She is also raising money for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Charity for its Impossible Possible campaign. Looking back on the last few years, she said: “I appreciate things a lot more now – I take time to appreciate my garden, the flowers blossoming, and my family. “I feel so lucky that I could have the amputation, and it puts things into perspective definitely.” Read More Mother reveals bruise on her toddler’s eye led to cancer diagnosis Jonnie Irwin details experience with palliative hospice care Ben Cohen’s ex-wife says she had only ‘one symptom’ before cancer diagnosis What is cardiac arrest? The condition that LeBron James’ son suffered from Mom left ‘appalled’ after water park says she can’t breastfeed son in lazy river Government has more work to do to ensure families secure quality childcare – MPs

A Chicago police sergeant has been acquitted of aggravated assault and felony official misconduct in a case involving a teenager he held in a prone position with his knee while off-duty, according to attorneys for the teen.

TikTok star and American English teacher Luke Rockwell was arrested in Thailand after allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met online, according to reports. Mr Rockwell, An American, was arrested in Bangkok on 2 September, NBC News reported. @English_with_teacherluke, as he is known online, appeared in court on Monday night and was released on bail, according to NBC. His TikTok account, which boasts 1.3m followers, has been set to private. According to The Bangkok Post, Mr Rockwell was accused of filming their sexual encounters. NBC News spoke to the girl’s mother, who said that the pair met in March just after the girl had turned 16. She said they met at Mr Rockwell’s home because he didn’t want to be seen in public with the minor. Although the teen and the social media influencer first had protected sex, Mr Rockwell showed medical documents to the teen that indicated he was healthy, so they had unprotected sex, the girl’s mom said. Months later, on 25 August, the teen was suffering from bleeding and pain, her mom told NBC News; three days later she told her mother about her relationship with Mr Rockwell, and was taken to a hospital before filing a police report. Five days later, the 16-year-old’s mom continued, the hospital confirmed she had STIs. On 31 August, the police issued a warrant for Mr Rockwell’s arrest. “The police could not find him still on Friday so they asked if my daughter can lure him out for a meeting and we did that together with police presence while she texted him. And that’s how he was arrested on Saturday,” the girl’s mother told NBC. “I was so shocked and it gave me a big punch in the chest. I was filled with sorrow and anger when I found out what he did [the recordings] to my daughter,” the teen’s mother added, saying she was disappointed that the influencer was granted bail. The upset mother also told The DailyMail, “Teacher Luke told her to keep everything a secret until she turned 18. He told my daughter that he loved her and would let her come live with him when she’s no longer a minor.” After the girl tested positive for gonorrhea and shared the results with the influencer, the mother told NBC, Mr Rockwell “promised that he would take responsibility for the costs.” “I’m not complaining to the police because I want money or compensation. I don’t care about the money,” she continued. “I want every woman and child to know how evil Teacher Luke is. It’s embarrassing for me to tell people about what’s happening to my family but I hope it prevents Teacher Luke from ever taking advantage of any girl in the future.” Lieutenant General Thitsit Sangsawan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division who called for the arrest operation, told NBC: “The American suspect was arrested for sex with a minor who is over 15 years old but not exceeding 18 years and recording the act of sex with a minor.” “Additionally, he is accused of taking a minor away from their parents, guardian, or caretaker without reasonable cause, willingly and intentionally,” the lieutenant general continued. “The suspect surrendered willingly and was cooperative. He has confessed to the relationship with the minor.” The case is still under investigation, police added. According to Thailand Law Library, although the age of consent in the country is 15, anyone who “takes away” someone over the age of 15 but under 18 “for indecent act with consent of such person, shall be punished with imprisonment of not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht ($280), or both.” Read More TikTok is divided on Mac’s squirt plumping gloss stick, but our beauty buffs love it TikToker sparks backlash for complaining about popular European vacation spots: ‘Dying to go home’ Death investigation underway, thousands trapped: What we know about 2023 Burning Man festival’s flooding chaos

Warning: This article does contain images some readers might find disturbing. Investigators have been left puzzled after finding a man’s body in a stage of “complete mummification” just 16 days after he was last seen alive. The man was found alongside a railway line in Bulgaria on 3 September. Identity checks later found he was 34 when he died, with a history of alcoholism, and was last seen alive on 16 August. However, his insides had been reduced to “structureless masses”, and case workers have been unable to explain how the body reached such an advanced state of mummification so quickly. A report published in Cureus journal shows a full set of pictures of the corpse – linked at the foot of this article. Trigger warning, they’re pretty gruesome. It has got scientists fascinated though. The report’s authors reveal that the “skin surface showed coloration ranging from light to dark brown, and it was hard and leathery.” “The internal examination of the body showed that the internal organs in the cranial, thoracic, and abdominal cavities had decayed into dried, brownish-black masses,” they write. Researchers stressed that natural mummification “usually takes several weeks to 6-12 months”, and that such a fast transformation would only normally happen in extreme heat. The temperature in Sofia has ranged from 16 to 33 degrees Celsius in the time period, which scientists said is not hot enough. The authors speculated that passing trains could have created a windy environment that could have contributed to drying out the body and causing bodily fluids to evaporate. They said it almost certainly wasn’t the weather in Sofia that caused the bizarrely fast mummification process. As of yet, it remains a mystery. Here’s the journal article. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Britney Spears' memoir The Woman in Me, has a lot to say about ex Justin Timberlake. The audiobook is narrated by actress Michelle Williams, and one section of the book had readers laughing. Spears recounts how when she and Timberlake were dating, they ran into the rapper Genuine whilst the pair were walking down the street in New York City. Timberlake said "Oh yeah, fo' shiz fo' shiz. Ginuwine, what's up, homie?" Timberlake apparently felt no shame then, but hearing Williams' impression made readers almost grateful for the recounting. Many listeners joked that Williams should receive an "Oscar" for her narration: Another called it "art": Whilst another listener said "nothing can you prepare you for these 15 seconds": Spears recalls that NSYNC, which Timberlake was a part of, would sometimes try "too hard to fit in" with hip-hop artists. In the book, Spears also revealed that she had an abortion after Timberlake "wasn't ready" to be a father. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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