During the Easter holidays, our eldest daughter, Sophie, ran past me on her way to the garden, and I could feel the heat coming off her. I asked if she was feeling okay, and she replied she felt fine. After taking her temperature and giving her paracetamol, she continued her day as normal. The paracetamol worked, bringing her temperature down. However, later that evening, her temperature returned. I gave her another dose of medicine, successfully reducing her temperature again. I kept asking her if she felt okay, and she always replied that she was fine. This cycle continued for a few days. Sophie seemed completely normal, playing, swimming, and doing all her usual activities. She had one afternoon nap, which wasn't surprising given our busy week during the holidays.
As the temperature didn't go away, I booked an appointment with the doctor. She checked Sophie over and did some blood tests and a Covid test, and we went on our way. Later that evening, the doctor called and said that Sophie's blood was showing that she was fighting something, likely a virus and that she wanted us to go to the hospital to be admitted for some further tests and to start antibiotics. I was quite shocked at this; it was just a temperature, but of course, we did as we were asked. At the hospital, they started antibiotics and every day would run blood tests looking for any changes. Sophie took everything well at first but became frustrated after a few days as she felt fine and didn’t want to be stuck in bed, missing out on seeing her friends.
After six days, the doctor called us to a meeting room and said they wanted to transfer us to another hospital. She said they wanted to run some more invasive tests, specifically, a bone marrow aspiration and lumbar puncture. Immediately, I knew this was more serious than we had originally thought. The doctor said she didn’t want to alarm us, but they didn’t feel they could rule out certain conditions, including leukaemia. That night, we were transferred, and tests were done the next morning. The oncologist came to meet with us and confirmed our worst fear - our little Sophie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). I didn’t hear what he said at first; I was in such a state of shock.
The doctor and the nurse explained her treatment, what to expect with side effects, and how life would be day to day for us and Sophie. I don’t think I took it all in - never in a million years did I think that a temperature would have brought us to where we were. We had no clue about leukaemia, what it meant or what the warning signs were. Sophie amazes us every day with her attitude and how she handles her chemotherapy. In the last year, she’s had surgery, several bone marrow aspirations and lumbar punctures. A constant barrage of drugs and chemicals, numerous blood transfusions. She’s lost her hair twice and has spent a long time isolated from all her friends and family. She is totally beyond brave and almost always has a smile on her beautiful face whilst dealing with something no one should ever have to - least of all a child. We are a year in and have a year to go.
The maintenance phase is definitely a lot more like normal life used to be, but every evening, there is still chemo, and there are still side effects. But she handles that so well, and her prognosis is good, and the end is in sight. We will be forever grateful to the amazing doctors and nurses who feel like family to us. The thermometer is never far from reach in our home. I will never again underestimate what a high temperature could mean - it might drive my kids crazy, but it gives mummy peace of mind!