Emily's Journey

My name is Vanessa and I am one of the blog administrators and went to high school with Katherine.  I would like to share my thoughts and what I have seen through this latest round of treatment.

I had the privilege of spending some one-on-one time with Emily on Tuesday night.  Going through this journey has given her wisdom and maturity beyond her years.  That makes me sad, but she is a stronger person for it.  I must admit that I love seeing her ‘fight back’ and she did plenty of that Tuesday night!  She will not allow herself to be tricked or patronised.  She is sick and tired of people saying and calling her “good girl, pretty princess, pretty in pink etc”.  One day she even dressed totally in blue, head to toe, just so nobody could comment.  She constantly has people in her room making ‘small talk’ – I can only imagine how tiring that must be. To use her own words she is tired of people being ‘in her face’.

 It has been 9 months, she is quite simply tired.

Words do not do justice to the job Kath and Woody are doing.  They need to be her ally, her protector, her encourager and her confidant.  They need to constantly maintain her trust, meaning they always need to tell her the truth, as difficult as that can be at times.  She is far too smart and aware to be mislead.  They need to advocate for Emily while still working with the nurses to get the job done.  Emily may be having all the medicine and procedures but Kath and Woody endure them alongside her.  They are having to watch their precious little girl being poked and prodded every hour of the day and throughout the night.  It must feel tiring and unrelenting.

Through this treatment, Woody has spent his nights sleeping alongside Emily, and his days going to work.  Katherine spends her days with Emily and her nights running their household, and caring for their 3 other children.  Incredible.  Sherilyn and Aunty Chris has been an amazing support in helping care for Jack, Charlotte and Luke.  When you are juggling so many balls and are mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted, even the everyday tasks become difficult.  It would be fair to say the treatment is taking a toll on the entire family.

I feel privileged, as I know you all do, to witness the incredible strength and courage shown by everyone affected by Emily’s diagnosis.  Sometimes as I walk back to work from the hospital, I see people laughing and enjoying the spring weather.  I think, “Don’t they know Emily is in that hospital fighting for her life”.  Then I think, that will be us soon, laughing in the sunshine.

We love you Emily and are all so proud of you.

We promise not to call you ‘Princess’.

 Vanessa