Lizzie's Battling Cancer Fund.
Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by to check out our page here on Go Fund Me. I hummed and hawed about setting this page up because I'm honestly still trying to get my head around everything and have very little idea of how our lives and the journey will evolve over the coming years.
On Tuesday 6th October, our little girl was diagnosed with a rare B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoblastic Lymphoma after a near 7 month battle for answers to chronic pain she was having in her limbs.
March this year, just as lockdown hit, Lizzie woke one night screaming hysterically with pain in her right hip. We tried Calpol, ibuprofen, massages but NOTHING helped. We eventually called 111 and they sent us to A&E. At A&E they took some blood and took an x-ray, I know they were looking for things like Septic Arthritis however blood showed only elevated CRP and nothing else and X-ray was deemed clear, so she was discharged and told to continue the pain relief we had. This continued in much the same fashion for MONTHS. She'd have intense episodes of pain, inconsolable, we'd take her to A&E and they would have a quick look, call nothing and send her home. I was mad, nobody was listening or making my daughter better.
My final trip I saw a doctor who told me it was my parenting causing the problem and I stormed out despite them taking blood I didn't wait for results, but a day or so later she was back and my husband took her and she was diagnosed severely Vitamin D deficient. At last, we thought we had answers, but 8 weeks of super high dose Vit D and she was still in pain, not screaming agony, but still enough to not eat or sleep well.
In June/July, very suddenly she had a swelling appear on her jaw, literally overnight and a few doctors at A&E saw it and considered it teeth related and said no more. GP also said likely teeth. It was when my husband got the Vit D results at the hospital a doctor finally suggested seeing Max Fax and her dentist which we'd been trying to get anyway, but Covid caused all kinds of Dentist appointment chaos.
It was September before we got a dentist appointment and right away he said it was not teeth and referred urgently to max fax. At the same time, out of nowhere, we got a call from a community paediatrician who gave us a very thorough call and LISTENED and when I begged for an MRI and appointment to Rheumatology she complied. She understood. I myself have Auto-Immune Arthritis and I was concerned my baby did too. How wrong I was about to be.
On the same day we ended up at both Rheumatology AND Max Fax and Dr. Warrior the Rheumatologist took one look upon exam and told us he was the wrong specialist, however, to go to the Max Fax appointment then straight back to him for blood tests and he would call some colleagues in the meantime. When we got to Max Fax they took one look and said: "This is potentially very serious and you need to treat it so". We headed straight back to Rheumatology as directed and waiting for us was Dr. J, Turnbull a consultant oncologist: My fears were confirmed. I had her diagnosis in the back of my mind from months of frantically trying to find answers to my daughter's pain but never dared believe it and wanted it to be anxiety being a massive jerk but when you have an Oncologist take you on under their department you know it's likely not going to be a good result and after a biopsy of her facial lump, it was confirmed we were dealing with Lymphoma.
The treatment plan will be given over 2.5 years! Lizzie is 6.5 years old right now which means she will be about 9yrs old before she's through this. That is so long for a child!
Lizzie is an active, precocious child who loves to dance, does gymnastics, Rainbows, Stagecoach Theatre and is the life and soul of a room. Recently she has become an active Gamer and as I am an Online Entertainer/Content Creator/Broadcaster she shares an enthusiasm for gaming from both me and her daddy and we even have our own Gaming Stream Segment on Twitch called Mini-Me Monday's, which we do...every Monday. Whilst we are here in hospital however that isn't possible without the setup so I'm not working currently.
Chemotherapy is intense, there are all the side effects and myriad complications to negotiate and avoid. The drugs are going to make her very sick, lethargic and in need of blood transfusions, more likely than not. Whilst she sits in the hospital, potentially weeks at a time as her results rollercoaster, my husband and I thought maybe it would be a good idea to get her a decent laptop she can use not only for home education and school work when she's able but to be able to play her favourite games on.
We don't know what this journey is going to look like, we don't know what adaptations at home we're going to have to account for and provide for but for sure we want to make sure our little girl gets through this next couple of years and ideally as easy as possible and any help at all from people will make our lives just a little easier as we navigate how to care for a seriously ill little girl.
We appreciate every person who takes the time to read about our journey, drop by, say hello on our Facebook group, share and donate and help us. We truly appreciate your kindness and generosity and support on this overwhelming journey.
*ACHIEVED*
The laptop would allow her to remain connected to her life outside of hospital, treatments and her illness:
Use for Education and Learning
Play Video Games
Communicate with Friends
Keep up with Extra Classes like Dance, Theatre School (hopefully), Rainbows and more...
Thank you for taking the time to read through this page and learn a little more about our little family and what my little one is going through. I'll keep this updated as we go along.
Love and Appreciation - The Osbornes <3
You can follow along daily on our journey over here on our Facebook Group:
