Action For Amber

On Saturday 21st of September 2019, our world changed in ways we could never have imagined.  Amber, our beautiful, vibrant and adorably mischievous 3 year old seemed a bit out of sorts.  Nothing hugely significant, but to be sure, we attended our local Doctor, who sent us onto our local A&E in University Hospital Kerry.  This was to be the first stage of a journey that we, like every other family before us, never believed we would ever be on. A series of tests, scans, biopsies, frightening conversations and ambulance transfers took us to just 5 days later.  In Crumlin Children’s Hospital, when on the 26th of September it was confirmed that our beautiful, perfect, full of life little girl had cancer.  An aggressive cancer, and that chemotherapy treatment would need to start that same day.   There are no words to describe the moment when a Doctor tells you that your child has cancer. The Doctor is speaking, and explaining, but anxiety and fear have taken over, all we heard was cancer.  Overwhelming, suffocating sadness and despair for our precious girl and all she now has to face. Amber has been diagnosed with Metastatic Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), this type of RMS  is rare, and aggressive, accounting for as little as 4% of all childhood cancers.  In terms of treatment, the plan is to attack with an intensive chemotherapy regime, followed by surgery once the tumor sites have regressed, and then radiotherapy.  It is anticipated that this will go on for the next 20 months or more, and we are hoping for a journey with as little in the way of bumps in the road as possible.  So far,  just over four weeks in, Amber has had four rounds of chemotherapy, and has battled like the true champion she is.  She has suffered a collapsed lung and spent time in the intensive Care Unit, but still, even in her saddest moments she manages a smile. Amber is an active, happy and carefree 3 year old, she loves her life, her family, friends and most especially her dog Bailey.  Our focus is on helping Amber through this terribly unfair journey, back to being well again and to the simplicity of doing all the things she loves in life again. We have been blessed with amazing family and friends who have all carried us through the horror of the last four weeks.  We know that this battle will be long and if we are to be the best we can possibly be for Amber, we need your help.  We will need to focus all of our attention on Amber for the foreseeable future, with weekly chemotherapy trips to Dublin and the associated hospital admissions and complimentary therapies.  We may also need to plan and prepare for the need to travel for treatment at some point in the future.   This go fund me page has been set up to raise funds for the unpredictable journey that lies ahead for Amber, and so that we, her family, can focus all of our energies on getting Amber well again.  In the event that all of the funds generated are not utilised for the care and treatment of Amber, they will be donated to organisations and charities directly associated with childhood cancer and to other families facing this awful journey. So, this is our journey, it is not one we had ever anticipated taking, no parent does, but it is one we find ourselves on nonetheless.  Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your donations are very much appreciated & please keep us in your thoughts. Celia, Danny & Amber ❤️