Emily's Journey

Hi everyone,

Had a brief meeting again with the Oncologist and care team to discuss Emily, who is doing amazingly well at this stage I might add : ).

We discussed the pros and cons of doing the urine test to check for disease progression and have decided that for now ignorance is bliss, and rather than do any screening we will commence low dose chemo when symptoms eventually appear. If the chemo proves to be too difficult for Emily or affects her appetite we will not hesitate in stopping it. She will not lose her hair though thankfully. The Oncologist could not give us an indication of when symptoms are likely to appear and said they could appear in a couple of weeks or a few months.  Talk about mental torture for us as parents!  It is all a very grey area so we just want to enjoy doing more fun things while we can and cross that bridge when it happens. We are all in a good space and do not want to dwell on this cancer rubbish til we absolutely have to. Gary and I will be liasing with the Oncology team and contacting them whenever we feel she is starting to decline and needs medical intervention/pain relief etc.

Last weekend we had the most amazing family holiday in Kaikoura thanks to Kylie Emily’s wonderful Camp Quality companion (and now special family friend) and will continue to do lots of fun activities and give Emily and the other kids lots of fun experiences. Suggestions welcomed : ) By the way Kylie has just donated in excess of $3000 to www.chaseafteracure.com following a head shave and raffle organised by herself and various individuals and companies in Kaikoura. Thanks!

In terms of Emily’s relapse, I’d like to say I am sorry for not being able to give people more info but I am not : )… I love telling you all that she is doing well and the truth is no one knows exactly how this is all going to pan out and sadly dying can be a long process so the care team tell me ( SIGH :( )… so we continue to LIVE and enjoy life while we can. Something we should do with or without stupid cancer invading ones life. So now that you’ve read this.. go and do something fun.. cos I am.. I’m going to pick Emily up from school. She has been at the Antarctic Centre today for a field trip so will have lots of news to tell. She wasn’t interested in coming to my 19 week pregnancy scan today! She is far to busy for that, and, like us, will be waiting til the baby is born to find out the baby’s gender :). Baby is perfect by the way . Right off to school pick up. Busy, happy Mum : )

Will update again in a couple of weeks.

Kath and Gary

Hi everyone,

Had the meeting with the palliative care nursing team last week which was very difficult but the staff are just amazing and I have so much trust in them.

It has been decided that in order to check disease progression we will just provide a sample of Emily’s urine. Neuroblastoma tumors excrete a hormone called VMA that is present in the urine. The more tumor activity – the higher the amount of hormone in the urine. This is the least invasive of procedures and doesn’t require hospital visits, scans etc. A sample will probably be tested over the next few weeks or so. Kind of dreading that to be honest. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.

In terms of cancer symptoms Emily doesn’t seem to be having any pain anywhere at the moment which is great. She is however recovering from ten days of illness. A tummy bug, followed by a head cold, followed by a kidney infection. She is much better now that her course of antibiotics is taking effect and is even at school today!

In terms of low dose chemo, apparently the dose is so low that the side effects will be minimal and she is unlikely to lose her hair. We won’t be commencing that until symptoms appear. The chemo will just help to slow the progression of the disease down and hopefully give her more time to have more awesome childhood experiences.

For now she is a happy kid doing normal happy things. She is blissfully unaware of the magnitude of the situation and is just getting on with her life.

Kath and Gary

We have a meeting with the palliative care team tomorrow.  I will be asking about the side effects of the potential low-dose chemo to help in our decision making down the track.  I don’t want her to lose her hair or her appetite, been there done that – if it is not going to change the outcome or enhance the quality of her life then we are not interested.  Emily is far too knowing now, and will not want to lose her hair after finally growing it back or to be fed through a tube up her nose again if she losses her appetite.  That would be torture for her.  We will know more about it tomorrow.

Emily had a great day at school today.  She was super excited about her maths test score (it was up 5 marks from Monday)!

The kids all got goldfish at the weekend.  I said she was very responsible feeding them every morning.  Em said she worries about them but she doesn’t worry about big things like the world ending and said ‘you have to have fun everyday until you die.  The day before you die you shouldn’t buy anything because it’s a waste of money and you should do a fun activity like Clip n Climb’.

What an awesome perspective!

We have no idea what is going on inside Emily’s body at the moment but she remains symptom free – long may it last!

Kath and Gary

Emily is doing well at the moment.  The focus now is on the things we CAN control, those things being fun experiences for Em and creating memories for our family and friends.  Gary and I  will be meeting with the palliative nursing care team on the 3rd of May to discuss pain relief options etc for when things go down hill.  Em is expressing no concerns of pain or discomfort at present.  At this stage we have no interest in scanning her to see what is going on in her body.  She is very in tune with her body and her symptoms alone, in my opinion, will indicate what pain relief will be required.  Not sure when low dose chemotherapy will commence…. we are trying to avoid it for as long as possible.  We will update again once we’ve met with the palliative care team. Thanks to everyone for  making Em’s school holidays so memorable.  We are forever grateful.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.  (The Serenity Prayer)

Kath and Gary

Emily is recovering from the side effects of the radiation and now it is just a case of watching and waiting to see what symptoms crop up next in terms of tumour activity within her body.  We have decided not to have Emily’s jaw scanned as it is just taking another day away from her that can be spent doing things she actually enjoys.

She has everyday booked up with fun activities these school holidays and had the best time in Hanmer and at the farm in Waipara with good friends of ours over the weekend.

Kath

Emily had her last session of radiation today (round 12).  We celebrated by having an ice cream party!  Who knows what’s next……

Here is a picture of Jack helping to put on the mask.

The blisters in her mouth will take about ten to fourteen days to heal.  When we know the next step we will update the blog.

Vanessa & Leona

Today Emily attended a scan of a different nature (my 12 week pregnancy scan) and there’s only one baby. Jack was certain it was twins – Emily thought triplets!  Needless to say they had us a little worried.  We are all very excited, it’s great to have something positive to look forward to.

Emily is suffering big time from the side effects of the radiation (very ulcerated mouth, vomiting etc) so we have decided to delay rounds eleven and twelve until next week.  She has been off school all week this week.

Here is a photo of Emily having a great time at the weekend – before the radiation effects were showing.

Kath

Hi everyone.

Emily is now up to round 9 of 12 radiation sessions. Originally it was just going to be 10 rounds but because she has coped so well they are doing another two to try and deal with the jaw tumor as best they can.

The last couple of days the side effects have kicked in and Emily says her ” throat feels like it’s on fire.”

She has had today and yesterday off school due to the painful throat, but managed a great weekend with very good friends before the side effects really kicked in.

Not much else to report other than she is generally happy and eating well.

Thanks again for all the support from loads of very special people. The meals and petrol money/vouchers have been so helpful!

Kath

Yesterday Emily had a CT scan of her chest, abdomen and pelvis.  Results showed no evidence of disease in these areas of her body.  Whilst this is good, unfortunately this doesn’t change the prognosis but hopefully means it gives Emily more time to live life to the full (and maybe a miracle cure in the interim… I wish!!).  It also means we don’t have to start low dose chemo straight away, hence giving her more quality of life.  Basically after we finish the radiation next week we wait and watch.  Minimal residual disease is in her body and will present itself in tumor form somewhere, possibly even in the bone marrow.  The waiting and watching will be torture but we have to try and be as normal as possible for as long as possible.  Such a cruel disease!

Emily is half way through the radiation treatment to her jaw and is coping tremendously well. She has ulcers in her mouth and a bit of a sore throat at this stage, but otherwise feels well.

Thanks again to everyone for all your support.  The emotional and practical support helps so much.

Kath

Today Emily had her first round of radiation to her jaw which she tolerated very well. The effects will be cumulative so hopefully the side effects will stay away for at least a week. 

It breaks our hearts to see her with the mold over her face (see pictures), and so vulnerable around all the radiation equipment, but she is very nonchalant about it all. Emily was the youngest in the radiation waiting room by at least fifty years. I noticed the other patients watching Emily and wondering how on earth she could be in such a waiting room. This is all so wrong and unfair.

Tonight a good friend of mine took Em and I out for tea to the Lone Star (thanks Kath). Em said it was the best day ever! Talk about glass half full! :) On the way home she saw some teenagers doing some silly stuff and said “Mum I hope I am not silly like that when I am a teenager”… broke my heart. Everytime the future is mentioned the reality of the situation rears its ugly head. Feeling very emotional tonight, but determined to keep a brave face for my brave girl. Gary is doing the same. Emily is so strong and just takes what life throws at her.

Em will spend all day at school tomorrow as radiation is at 4.10 pm.

Will update in a few days, midway through treatment. Thanks again to everyone for your messages of support and help with the other kids.

Kath and Gary

Hi everyone,

Today Emily spent 5 hours in the hospital for radiation planning. This involved molding a mask to her face to use during radiation. The staff melted some plastic mesh type stuff and put it over her face then cooled it down for ten minutes with ice packs until the mold set. It looked claustrophobic but Em coped very well and was even singing a “One Direction’s” song ” You don’t know you’re beautiful.” She really wasn’t phased and they asked if she could come in and demonstrate how this is done to the adults that have treatment! So much can be learned from children…

Emily’s radiation treatment will commence on Thursday morning (15th of March). The side effects are likely to be an ulcerated mouth, sore throat, sunburnt cheek and possibly blisters on and behind her ears. No nausea is expected like last time though which is a small mercy. Nausea is so debilitating. The radiation has been delayed til Thursday because they want to take the time to make a sophisticated radiation treatment plan rather than rushing into it. If Emily was in pain we would have commenced it today. Em has no pain what-so-ever because her meds are working effectively and she is eating normally. (Cancer Mums’ are obsessed with their child’s eating habits and they speak volumes). Em will be having ten days of radiation therapy then we will assess the situation and see what the next plan is.

Em is looking forward to spending the next two days at school with no hospital interruptions.

Kath

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to you all for the overwhelming support we have had already. Such a difficult time and your thoughts and messages help so much.

Just a quick update because I want to make it really clear that at this stage of Emily’s journey she is COMPLETELY NORMAL, has energy, and is her usual self (her pain is very well controlled). Emily is aware that she has a Neuroblastoma tumor in her jaw and feels OK about the pending radiation as she remembers that it doesn’t hurt. It will however make her more tired than usual.

This is all she needs to know at this stage and we will give her info on a needs-to-know basis. We will be meeting with the Oncologist tomorrow (Monday the 12th of March) to discuss the radiation plan. We aim to get Emily to school between treatments where possible.  Whilst this low dose radiation isn’t curative it should shrink the tumor enough to give Emily some relief and eat normally again. It may shrink it entirely but inevitably it will come back there or in another location. It may be elsewhere now and a CT will determine if this is the case in due course.

Will update again when a treatment plan is in place.

Yesterday I had a shower about 5 minutes after Emily and she had drawn heaps of happy faces in the condensation. This sums up where she is at. She feels no different and won’t want to be treated any different. Of course I bawled my eyes out! The shower is the best place to cry!

Thanks again.

Kath

Devastating news today.

For the last week Emily has had jaw pain and a numb chin and bottom lip.  Today an MRI revealed a large neuroblastoma tumor in the right side of her jaw.  There are no curative options for Emily.

Treatment options are aimed at controlling symptoms and managing her pain rather than curing the cancer.  She will begin some radiation next week.  The oncologist is unable to give an indication of how much time Emily has left – this is a week by week process and will depend on how she responds to treatments. Aggressive treatment is unavailable to Emily because of the initial treatment regime.  We have all known that there would be no treatment options for Emily if her cancer was to return.

Emily knows that there is a lump in her jaw that she will be having treatment for (radiation to start next week).  Kath and Gary have decided to tell her only what she needs to know to avoid any unnecessary anxiety or stress.  Parents, please give careful consideration about what you tell your children as Emily’s ‘normality’ will be maintained for as long as possible (going to school, playing with friends…)

Kath and Gary would like a few days to reflect on this information.  This blog is the best place to keep informed as we will be updating it regularly.  All comments will be passed on.

Leona and Vanessa

We know that there’s nothing you can do or say at the moment.  Please take the time to process this information in your own way and, when you feel ready, please comment as this is a huge support to Emily and those that love her.

As 2011 draws to an end I thought I would update ‘Emily’s Journey’ and reflect on this part of the cancer journey… I call it the ‘normal/hopeful/fearful phase’ …. a bittersweet stage that evokes many emotions and challenges your inner strength. I am generally a ‘glass half full’ kind of person so most of the time I am hopeful, however lately I have been struggling with all this cancer business. It never goes away, regardless of how well your child is doing. why?? Because you worry about other children! The bonds you form with other families in the hospital are difficult to describe unless you have experienced it, and when you hear of kids , who endured treatment alongside Emily, that have since relapsed or passed away it kicks you in the guts and you share some of the parents’ anguish and devastation. Obviously I don’t know what it is like to lose a child.. but man were we close. That kick in the guts feeling is then followed by the survivor guilt you experience when the families reliving this nightmare ask how Emily is doing and you say “Em is great.” Don’t get me wrong, I am so so grateful that Emily is doing well, it is just hard because during treatment we all had the same goal… to get our kids into remission and keep them that way, then all of a sudden that favourite word remission becomes relapse or terminally ill for some families…. It is for this reason that I have been reluctant to update Emily’s blog, but today it dawned on me that people may actually WANT to know that Emily is doing well and who was I to not let the people that have supported us so much know that she is doing well and remains cancer free. If Emily relapses ( heaven forbid ) I would want to know that other kids are beating the dreaded “C”. No one begrudges a healthy child right?? I certainly wouldn’t.

So here goes … Emily’s 2011…. school full time with an amazing class and teacher, touch rugby on Tuesdays, swimming lessons on Thursdays, Kapa Haka group at school, sleep overs, birthday parties etc etc. Oh and she got her ears pierced! Typical 8 year old activities. Amazing. Emily received a certificate in school assembly that was awarded for ‘strength, persistence and excellence following an extended absence from school’. This pretty much sums up the head space she is in. She is strong and doesn’t dwell on the events of 2010. The word cancer, or poor me is pretty much absent from her vocabulary, however the empathy she gained from her experiences is evident. I am so proud of Emily’s achievements this year and equally as proud of my other kids. Em will be attending Camp Quality at Living Springs for a week in Jan 2012! She is so excited! She deserves it! Medically Emily continues to do well also. Having just the one kidney or walking on her tip toes hasn’t held her back from anything. Em continues to get physio for her tip toe walking and will commence a re-immunisation schedule in the near future. The chemo wiped out all the immunisations she has had since she was born so she has to have them all again. She has put on 6 kgs since finishing treatment in Feb, and now weighs in at 25kgs! With regards to scans to check for relapse, Emily continues to have 3 monthly scans until Feb 2012, then she will change to 6 monthly scans. Her chest/abdomen/pelvis scan in December was clear thankfully. I never tell Emily the result or make a big deal out of it. She never asks and a scan is just another procedure to her. My scanxiety levels were the worst thus far in Dec as Emily was having leg pains (which in hind sight would’ve been from touch rugby). Difficult not to worry about every niggle they have though. The uncertainty is mental torture, but all you can do is be hopeful and enjoy every day that they are well. I could be worrying obsessively over Em relapsing and meanwhile (again heaven forbid) something could happen to Jack, Charlotte or Luke. The “what if’s??” can do your head in… if you let them. Most days I choose not to let them.. but I am human, so I am allowed to be fearful at times. So that is where Emily and I are at at this stage if the journey. I am hoping for a cancer free/ normal/hopeful/sometimes fearful 2012. I will channel some energy into productive things like fundraising for www.chaseafteracure.com., enjoying my healthy kids, my family, and my friends ( because I deserve to ) and keep those who have lost ( or are battling to keep ) their precious kids in my thoughts, and be there for them if they need me!! Life goes on and I need to live it….

Kath

Hi everyone,

First I want to say that over the last 8 months (ie. since her treatment ended) Emily has had the most amazing times with friends and family and is living life to the full!   She has been attending school full time, rarely having a day off! She also went to Lake Tekapo for her Make-A-Wish. The whole family went and it was brilliant! Emily looks amazing.

Today she had the second of her three monthly CT scans. Emily’s amazing Oncologist phoned me up within hours of the scan. Fortunately there was no evidence of disease. Whilst this is the best news for us, it is overshadowed by the fact that 2 children that had the EXACT same cancer and EXACT same treatment regime as Emily at the EXACT same time have since relapsed. Whilst I don’t know these children (I know of them and liase with their parents occasionally), this is a hard pill to swallow for me and the reality of this living hell really hits home when I hear that this monster of a disease has returned to their child/family! I feel completely helpless and wish I could do something.  An amazing family in America, whose son Chase had Neuroblastoma (he is in remission thankfully) started up an organisation called Chase After A Cure. Whitney, the Director of the organisation (and Chase’s Mum) has raised over $200,000 for Neuroblastoma research in the last couple of years. She has turned her fear of her child potentially relapsing into fundraising.  I’d like to share the website with you. There is the opportunity to donate money or purchase T-Shirts, Wrist Bands or Pandora Beads. I have done so and received the goods in approx 3 weeks. Research is the only way to find a cure for this horrible disease. www.chaseafteracure.com  Emily’s story is also on this website.

Sorry I haven’t updated for a while. Normality has been fantastic and right now all the family is doing great :)

Emily celebrated her 8th birthday with her friends on the weekend.

Kath

Had Em’s end of treatment meeting Friday. She’ll be having CT scans and various other tests every 3 months for the next 3 years. Emily has a 50% chance of the Neuroblastoma returning but has surprised medical staff with achieving a COMPLETE remission. There are no treatment options for Emily should she relapse :( Time to get some fundraising underway for Neuroblastoma research!

Kath

Clear scans and clear bone marrow!  Emily has NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE!

Some great news amidst some challenging Christchurch days.

First Place – Mark Connolly – Ticket Number 0862

Second Place – Morgan Edwards – Ticket number 0442

Third Place – Pam Webber – Ticket Number 0541

Fourth Place – Mark – Ticket Number 0129

The draw was done this morning under police supervision.  Congratulations to the winners.  Thanks very much for all the support.  In some cases individuals sold up to 80 tickets.   We managed to raise $4,800! Some of this money will be spent on ‘play items’ for the Child Cancer ward as compiled by the nurses and playroom staff.

Gary and Family

Emily’s inpatient treatment is finally finished so no more hospital overnight stays for Emily! What a year she has had! So pleased to see the back of 2010. Here’s a recap of what Em went through from Nov 2009 until Jan 2011…

November 09 – Jan 2010 = 9 weeks of feeling unbelievably unwell with zero appetite, lethargy, and horrific bone pain that required Gary or myself to have to rub her wee body every hour during the night. Could only manage to move from the couch to her bed. Lost 4kg from her already slim frame. 3 hospital stays during this time to figure out what was wrong with Emily. Diagnosed with a virus that was masking the Neuroblastoma. We were so worried about her, and as awful as it sounds, Emily was literally dying before our eyes. Her complexion was grey and her eyes had no spark.. and we wanted that spark back… TODAY THE SPARK IS BACK!! : )

Jan 8th 2010 – After finding a mass in Em’s abdomen and a lump on her skull, a CT scan was performed and a biopsy of the lump/tumour took place.  Emily was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma and given a 20% chance of survival. The outlook was so poor due to her age and the fact that the cancer was widespread. The news was devastating and effected so many people… especially her Mum and Dad :(

• Jan 13th Em commenced her first round of chemotherapy. Emily’s bone pain was gone after round one. One saving grace.
• 8 more rounds of chemo.. every 10 days ( each round lasting 3 days). In hosp for a month following diagnosis. Had a tube inserted into her kidney as kidney was dilated from the pressure for the tumour.
• Countless temperatures between chemo rounds meaning back to the hospital she went… for IV antibiotics.
• So much vomiting I don’t even won’t to think about it.
• An infection in the bowel (typhlitis) as a result of the intense chemo (an 18 night hospital stay for that).
• Required naso-gastric feeding for 10 months due to loss of appetite/weight caused by the chemo.
• The psychological issues re losing her hair and not feeling “normal” or “pretty”.
• 6 bone marrow aspirations to check the amount of Neuroblastoma in the bone marrow
• 13 general anaesthetics, countless scans, xrays, tubes in her nose, blood tests, injections, painful dressing changes where her central intravenous line is on her chest.
• High Dose Chemo and a stem cell transplant (26 nights in hospital for that). Painful mucositis (Google it), morphine, morphine and more morphine.
• Surgery to remove her tumour and her left kidney (as the kidney’s blood supply was feeding the tumour). In HDU for 4 nights, then recovered in CHOC for another week.
• 14 rounds of radiation to the area where the tumour was removed.
• 5 rounds of painful antibody therapy
• 6 months of Accutane (a drug that helps prevent relapse). Em is on this until the end of Feb. Causes severe skin dryness and sensitivity.

We are so thankful for the amazing staff on the CHOC ward. Nurses, doctors, surgeons, play specialists, dieticians etc. An awesome collaboration of exceptional staff.  Emily has had top notch treatment and I can’t fault our health care system when it comes to receiving optimal care.

These are just the things I remember… I’m sure I’ve blocked some of it out… as has Emily.

Last week, Emily attended her first Camp Quality camp (a camp for children living with cancer).  She had the most amazing time!  Emily is now looking forward to starting school with the rest of her classmates on 2 February.

Emily you are amazing and have been through more than anybody should have to go through in any lifetime.  You are so brave and have taught so many people so much. You have earnt each and every one of your 831 beads of courage and we are all SO THANKFUL you are still here with us! :) I will update the blog after every scan.  Next one is in March, but other than that I won’t be writing about our ‘normal’ life – that’ll probably be on facebook :)

Thought I’d sign off with a story Em wrote on one of the days she got to school last year. We think the ‘cat’ is the ‘cancer’… you’ll know what I mean when you read it.  I’ll write it exactly as Emily did.

Once there lived a mouse and a cat. They were enames for a long time. One day insted of hurting each other they thought of killing each other. The mouse won. So the cat died so that was the end of the cat!

Thanks for all your support. Love to you all.

Kath, Gary and family x

Hi Everyone,

As you probably know we are running a raffle to raise money to buy some books/DVD’s/games for the Child Cancer Unit where Emily has spent a lot of the year.

Due to logistical issues with getting the ticket stubs back from Auckland we need to postpone the draw until the 24th January.  We will post the results on this blog shortly after.

Gary

A year ago today Emily was diagnosed with Cancer and given a 20% chance of survival. A parents worst nightmare! She was completely riddled with Cancer. Today, after a courageous, grueling battle Emily is disease free ( according to scans ). Whether or not Emily relapses is completely out of our control, but today.. all is well! Long may that last!!! So proud of our wee fighter!

Just one more round of treatment to go for Emily (in hosp from Jan 9th til the 14th )…PHEW!… then oral medicines with lots of yucky side effects until Feb 27th… then 3 monthly scans to check for relapse. Fingers toes and eyes crossed! Thanks everyone for your support this year. You all know who you are.

Kath x

Emily took a week and a half to recover from round four of the antibody/interleukin 2 treatment so felt pretty average on Christmas day but was still much better than last year! Em turned a real corner on the 27th of Dec and is now eating really well and has lots of energy. Even managed a sleepover with her bestie Jaime last night. Jaime’s Mum Wendy said it was just like old times. Music to my ears. Emily’s 5th and FINAL round of antibody therapy will be from the 10th til the 14th of January… then it’s fingers crossed for a cancer free life! Emily will continue to have medicines until the end of Feb but these can just be given at home. The medicine ( Isotretinoin) gives Emily terribly dry skin and makes her very self conscious. It will clear up in no time though. She is still very beautiful and her hair is growing back very quickly. After the next round of treatment we will have an end of treatment meeting at some stage with Emily’s oncologist. I will update after Round 5 (with a recap of the year Emily has had) and then again after Emily’s end of treatment meeting. We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Having Emily around was our best Christmas present for sure! Here’s to a healthy happy 2011.

Kath x

Emily is happy to be home and able to sleep in her own room.  We had a really fun Christmas BBQ tonight and Em was in good spirits.  I even convinced her to ‘fan me’ (because it was so hot), the going rate was 50 cents for 5 minutes – BARGAIN!

Vanessa

Today was not such a good day.  Kath and Em are looking forward to going home tomorrow.

Vanessa & Leona

Emily is coping well with this round of treatment.  Home Friday – not much to report.

Vanessa & Leona

Emily is having Interleukin-2 medicine in the hospital this week.  This is a white blood cell stimulating medicine that runs intravenously over 4 days.  Next week she will have the same course of treatment, with the antibody therapy running simultaneously.   Then Round 4 is finished.  Only Round 5 to go from January 10-14.  Then she is done!

Emily will be home for Christmas and New Years – the best present for her and definitely the BEST present for us!  Emily was so, so sick last Christmas and spent the day in bed – not this Christmas!

Kath

The Rolleston firefighters are participating in this year’s Funrazor to support child cancer.  They will be at Rolleston BP from 10am this Saturday 4th December.

Kath

Emily finished round 3 of Antibody Therapy today.  She coped well.

We will have to go back to hospital every morning during the next week for blood tests and injections to stimulate white blood cells.  Round 4 will start in two weeks and Emily will be in hopsital for another two weeks.  We are hoping that Emily will get to school as much as possible over the next fortnight.

Emily’s nurse was awesome this week baking cookies and cupcakes for her to ice.  The staff in CHOC are incredible.  Thanks again for all the meals from friends and support from Mum, Steve and Fliss with the other children.

Beads of courage: 646

Kath