peter
“She was only three. It started by catching a cold more often than normal. After a few of these, I discovered a tiny lump on her neck, so we went to the GP and he sent us home with antibiotics. They didn’t make any difference. I was concerned about the lump at the time but the doctor barely looked at it. When she became very moody, she stopped playing and walking, we went to the GP again. She was given a second round of antibiotics. When that didn’t work, they were finally sent to the hospital for a blood test. The blood test came back with a positive leukaemia diagnosis. How I felt right then, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Our lives were changed forever. We were just getting through each day, with chemotherapy sessions and all sorts of treatments for two and a half years. We were delighted to eventually get the all-clear. We were told she only had 10-20% chance of relapsing. She even started school that year and everything was back to normal. Ten months later, while planning our first real holiday, she relapsed. This time, she got very sick. The relapse protocol was aggressive. Her chances for survival were 50% and she ended up in ICU for 14 days. We didn’t know if she would survive. She needed a bone marrow transplant, which we luckily received from a German lady. The transplant was successful and, because of her, our daughter is alive today. She’s become a very smart girl with dreams of healing sick children when she’s older. She is now nine and cancer-free, but the chances of it returning are quite high. Her relapse is an ever-pressing weight on our everyday life.
Childhood cancer is a devastating disease, which gets even worst with all the invasive treatments in practice today. We need more non-toxic treatments and faster diagnoses and for that, we need more research. I wanted to share our family’s story to give you a little glimpse into the lives of thousands of families who are going through treatment today. They need the help of all of us to make their little one’s days a bit easier in battling this awful disease.”
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Keep your eyes out for the Golden Bikes all around Dublin City and if you can, donate HERE!