On March 3, 2020, we received horrific news: "Your daughter has leukaemia." We couldn’t believe it. Niamh had been so well. In fact, she’d competed in a cheerleading competition the day before and came in first! She’d been having some non-blanching rashes for some time, but after blood tests and a paediatric consultation, we were reassured it was nothing to be concerned about.
However, on the day before her diagnosis, she came home from school with a swollen abdomen and a temperature of 39°C. We took her to our local A&E, and the next morning, we were transferred to the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle. There, we met a consultant who told us he was 99% sure Niamh had leukaemia, but needed to perform a bone marrow biopsy to confirm. Niamh was taken to theatre, and we were taken to the children's cancer ward.
We waited for Niamh to return before her diagnosis was then confirmed. The next day, Niamh returned to theatre to have her portacath put in and her first chemotherapy. She was also given lots of medication on the ward, which made her extremely sick. We spent seven days in the ward and then were allowed home – which was another daunting experience.
Two weeks after Niamh was diagnosed, the country went into lockdown because of COVID-19. Only one parent was allowed to take her to the hospital, and we weren’t allowed out of the house. Throughout the initial induction phase of her treatment, Niamh was very sick, vomiting frequently and struggling with medications. The high-dose steroids increased her blood sugar, necessitating a sugar-free diet - not easy when all she wanted to do was eat!
Consolidation chemotherapy was tough too. She received weekly methotrexate injections over four days while awaiting theatre, which was especially difficult when doing it alone. During interim maintenance treatment, things got a bit easier, and we saw glimpses of the ‘old Niamh’ returning. Her hair even started to grow back a bit. The delayed intensification phase was hard but for us not a patch on induction. Although, by this point, Niamh was now shiny bald.
The long-awaited long-term maintenance (LTM) phase arrived, and along with it, the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions – double celebrations! There were ups and downs along the way, but we managed with only four emergency admissions, two of which we were discharged from A&E. Niamh got a nasty case of shingles just after starting LTM, which meant another week in hospital.
We had another two lockdowns, and then Niamh got COVID-19 in February 2021. Niamh continued to build her strength, returning to cheerleading, regrowing her hair and going back to school. She did excellently throughout LTM, though she had to deal with an awful chemo rash all over her face.
Niamh rang the bell on April 30, 2022, and we celebrated with a big party, including games, with all donations from it going to Children’s Cancer North, our local hospital charity. Throughout Niamh’s treatment, she raised over £40,000 for this cause. Niamh and I have also written a book for other families, providing an in-depth look at what two-and-a-half years of treatment is like in reality.