Reece’s Story
4 weeks before Reece’s 2nd birthday was taken up by, planning the party, sorting out what to buy, is it going to be indoors or outside, what’s the weather going to be – all the normal stuff parents / carers do for their child’s birthday. my thoughts where on what to buy him, where will we have his first real birthday, do we get a bouncy castle or is he still a little young and it might be dangerous,
Who shall we invite, and what shall we get as a birthday cake, The night garden or Thomas
Then he got ill just a cold and a sore throat, doctor will give him some penicillin to clear that up, – that wont ruin his birthday, oh no a week later – now only 3 weeks till his birthday and he’s got chicken pox – more penicillin,
What’s this 2 weeks before his birthday and he has lumps on his throat, – there’s something wrong here, what’s the doctors missing – we go to the doctors again and he is angry at me because I am telling him there is something wrong with this little man –
That was the day my world STOPPED.
Watching your child grow and move forward through developmental milestones – learning to sit, to crawl, to take the first tottering step – what a joyful process for a parent!
How frightening then, to watch your child, suddenly seem to “Stop.”
That is what happened to me, shortly before Reece’s second birthday.
A Diagnosis with a Poor Prognosis
To take a child to hospital is a horrible experience for any parent, but what would you do if they told you
‘YOUR CHILD HAS CANCER’
Reece and I were about to embark on the battle of our lives, spending many weeks and months together in hospital.
“I knew Reece was really ill, but I never expected the news that was about to be broken. Reece had cancer. ‘That was the most devastating moment in my life, you don’t believe it – it feels like a dream a nasty nightmare’ That moment will live with me forever.”
I was told that Reece’s Cancer was poor, because it was one of those rare cancers in children.
Reece’s type of cancer was to be treated with a combination of Chemotherapy, Radiation and a Bone Marrow Transplant. Each having their own form of risk.
Reece started treatment immediately. The medical team inserted a “port” in his chest, through which he would receive chemotherapy drugs.
This is when Reece and I began the long journey, marked by the terrors and triumphs that is cancer treatment.
Imagine.
Waking up one morning to be told your child has cancer. Seeing your child with a tube hanging out of their chest and out of their nose. Signing forms to allow toxic drugs to be pumped into their bodies, for weeks, month after month. Blood transfusion after blood transfusion, infection after infection because they have no immune system.
For Reece, swimming and playing where replaced with infusions and transfusions.
The steroid medication he took made him irritable and emotional.
Being told that because of the treatment needed to save your child’s life, your child will be sterile, your child may have brain damage and your child may have lung, kidney, heart and liver damage, together with stunted growth.
Being told that your child may need treatment for the rest of their life.
For Reece and I hospital treatments became a way of life,
Poor Reece spent over 260 days in hospital following his diagnosis of cancer in the first year, followed by weeks and weeks in his second.
Life after Cancer should be Pretty Simple
Today, Reece is still being monitored for leukemia and being monitored constantly for signs of secondary cancer.
If there’s a good thing in all of this, it’s watching Reece grow up. He is a brave kid and I admire him so much. I figure the rest of our life is pretty simple. When we look at what Reece has done and how he has stood up to this, I know that we’ll be able to handle whatever comes.”
I don’t know how long Reece has left weeks, months, years, a lifetime (I hope) but we will keep going, smiling at the day to day infections, fighting the nasty bugs and beating this monster called cancer, together we will get through this.
A smile and a cuddle will sort him out, there is nothing better in the world, chemo, radiation bone marrow transplants – doctor speak for drugs, Cuddles cure cancer, drugs treat it. Both are needed and Reece gets them both.
Now I want to do something for as many children with cancer as I can but I need your help,
Please think about this bit.
Imagine you are a parent of a child who has just been diagnosed with cancer, (your world will be in such turmoil – I know because I’ve been there), there is no Light at the end of the tunnel then a little 5 year old boy walks in who has had, Chemo, Total Body Radiation & a Bone Marrow Transplant.
A Little boy who Stopped eating for 32 days, stopped moving for 4 days, got so ill everyone was worried and scared…. And he is running around like a normal little boy, how would that help you, would you (for a moment) see the light at the end of the tunnel, Smile (first time in weeks) think there is a future, and HOPE.
That’s the reason why we are doing this. Nothing big or flash, just a parent and a little boy trying to help others who are going through this nightmare.