Thursday 27th November 2008 - the end, and the beginning......

Well it's official - CHEMO IS OVER!!!!!! Sarah had her final dose of the hard stuff on Monday, and her levels cleared and we were sent home. She was quite well this week, with just a bit of feeling sick, but tablets kept it at bay. She had a little party arranged for her and her friend McKenna who was also finishing chemo this week, and we all had loads of cakes and sweets and fizzy drinks. Sarah was given a HUGE Minnie Mouse as a present - not quite sure where she is going to live, but Sarah loves her, so I suppose she'll have to live somewhere!! Sarah is due back to UCH next week for her post-chemo tests Wednesday and Thursday and her line is coming out on 8th. Stanmore have booked her in on 9th - 12th for intense physio and hydrotherapy, and possibly the following week too, so hospital is still in our lives for a while longer.Lets hope they can get her on her feet.
We will miss all the staff at UCH - the never ending line of nurses have all been fab without exception. They have so much time and patience for all of the families struggling to come to terms with what a horrid and frightening disease their precious children have.No one who hasn't experienced cancer in its many forms can quite grasp the enormity of what it does to everyones lives. It rips your heart out and tests your strength, relationships and emotions to their limits. Mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, teachers - the list is endless - everyone who knows the child with cancer is affected and is willing the child to recover with all their might. The nurses are there through it all, mopping up the tears and encouraging everyone to be strong. We will be forever grateful to the whole team on T11 north, right down to the poor food lady who was ceremoniously sent away every day after being told the food was horrible and Sarah didn't want to eat it!! The surgeon at Stanmore is our hero for removing the tumour - Mr Pollock was there at the start to deliver the diagnosis in a compassionate way to Sarah so she understood, was there at the operation to remove it in its entirety, and fit the artificial bone(beautiful neat stitches too - very impressive!!)and was there at the end to check her progress and make sure it was all working properly once the brace was removed.I will remember him forever as one of the most clever and wonderful men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The team of doctors and consultants under the guidance of Dr Maria Michelagnoli have been wonderful too. Dr Shankar loved Sarahs lovely smile and always had her interests at heart, would never force chemo on her when her body wasn't ready for it, and we thank him.Paulette always kept us stocked up with tissues and sickbowls,the most important job in the world!!! Jessie, the play specialist was amazing - Sarah loved her, and she always had time for all the children on the ward. It seemed like an easy job, sitting playing games all day and painting, but oh no, that is just on the surface - she watches, listens and understands - she calms, she encourages, and she sympathises. She gets these children through the worst time of their young lives with fun and games and Sarah will never forget her.Rachel, the school teacher has been great - she has praised Sarah for her attendance at school all the way through her treatment, has helped her with her homework, and helped her make the transition from junior school to secondary school. Sarah never missed a session at UCH Hospital school, even when she was poorly, and that is because of Rachel.Distraction technique sarah called it, but it wouldn't have worked if Rachel was a dragon - she wasn't and we will never forget her. The specialist nurses Vicky and Bryony were also a lifeline for us - Bryony was in the room when Sarah was diagnosed in April, they were always in the room at clinic and knew what was going on with Sarah, always came to speak to us on the ward, and listened to all my many days of crying my eyes out in desperation about what the future held for Sarah. They didn't patronise or judge, just listened and told us acurate information about what was happening.Bryony called me on the day of Sarah's operation to check everything was OK and our chat kept me going while she was in intensive care. Every child and family is different, so their knowledge of all things to do with cancer is amazing!!
And finally Julie, the most wonderful physio in the world, and the ONLY person to make Sarah laugh during physio!! We thank her for all her hard work to give Sarah the confidence to try - she didn't have that before Julie came along, and she has set her on the road to recovery and calmed me down in my moments of mass panic when I thought she would never walk again.I asked if she would move in with us for a while, but surprisingly she turned me down..........

As a foot note to Sarahs chemo story, we would like to thank all of you who read this blog that started just to stop all of you texting me every 5 minutes for an update!!!! - you have all been so wonderfully supportive of our family over the last 7 months, and you have all helped us get through this absolutely terrible year with smiles on our faces. Sarahs friends' acceptance of her appearance, and her continued inclusion in their everyday lives at parties and sleepovers, have helped her feel as normal as it was possible to feel in the circumstances.Her teachers at Trafalgar and Teddington have been great too, and she still loved coming to school on bad days.Our family - what can we say - we know you were suffering along with us, but you put on a brave face to give us so much support - you listened while we cried, ranted and raved, and laughed - thank God for the laughter - we might have gone mad. You brought presents, flowers and offers of help. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us through this.
And lastly to Katie, the most wonderful big sister it is possible to have(apart from mine.......!) - she has shown maturity beyond her 17 years, and has not complained once about being neglected over the last 7 months. She handled Sarahs illness better than most adults would, always asking questions about the disease, and what was happening next in the process. She continued with school in between, and it is to her credit that she hasn't let the emotional rollercoaster we are all on affect her studies. We wish her all the luck in the world with her future - if anyone deserves all the best that life can give, then she does. She has loved Sarah as much as it is possible to love someone and more, and even the sisterly arguments stopped!! I don't think I will mind if they return - as long as we have the girls together and healthy, all is well with the world.A Saturday night in front of the TV with a takeaway will never be taken for granted again.

This blog will continue but now will be about Sarahs physio and recovery, and not about being sick and ill. It will be a celebration of how fabulous she is, what she gets up to, and about how the bravest 11 year old on the planet gets back to normal. Watch this space!!