2 weeks on – some thoughts

It is now 2 weeks since Anna was diagnosed with ALL.

In that time I have personally gone from being extremely shocked and being a bit of an emotional wreck, to being more upbeat about the eventual outcome of Anna’s illness.

Obviously part of the reason for being more upbeat is the medical expertise of all the staff at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh that she is benefiting from, and the high survival rates from ALL nowadays.
However, Anna’s ability to deal with her illness is quite unbelievable for a 3 year old, and is greatly uplifting: she is without doubt a very special young lady.

Of course, she is only 3 years old and therefore deals with things as a 3 year old does: she doesn’t like the drugs, doesn’t like the portocath being attached to drips, doesn’t like the tube down her nose/throat (she gags a lot) …, but I can’t help but be uplifted by her smile, her laugh, her assertiveness, her stubborness, her fighting spirit …

As a family we have adjusted from being a close knit family to seeing very little of each other as a group. In the situation that we find ourselves in, you just deal with the day to day reality and get on with it.

Anna as indicated is dealing a well as could be expected with her illness. Her brother, Nathan is also dealing admirably with the situation. It can’t be easy for a 5 year old boy to deal with not seeing his sister on a daily basis (they are very close), to seeing only one parent at a time, to the general disruption … He knows that Anna has Leukaemia and is very ill, but he obviously can’t grasp the full extent.

Once again I must add my thanks to the many messages of support, gifts for Anna and offers of help: they are all greatly appreciated!

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