On the 25th of January our beautiful Ava had her last round of chemotherapy and got to ring the end of treatment bell. Such an emotional day, we are so incredibly proud of our baby and her strength and resilience she has had throughout this entire time. It has truely been something to watch Ava take every round of treatment in her stride. Our girl is something else. Thank you to everyone who made this day so special for us.

And then on the 15th of January after many delays, Ava had her end of treatment scans, and I am so, so happy to say that after multiple ultrasounds, CT scans, X-Rays, procedures, a biopsy, a major surgery, 4 months of living in Melbourne and separated from family, countless doctors appointments, hospital admissions, ER trips, blood tests, echocardiograms and 31 weeks of chemotherapy, my baby is finally in remission.

I am so unbelievably thankful to the incredible team at The Royal Children’s Hospital, specifically the Kookaburra Ward and the Day Cancer Centre and how amazing they have been with my family. Our oncologist, our surgeon, all of our beautiful nurses, the kinder and school teachers and the reception staff. I owe everything to this hospital. I also want to give a big thank you to my amazing hometown Nhill, for all the love and support we have been shown.

To everyone who has helped us out financially, to our families, especially mine; for their constant support and who have been there every step of the way helping wherever they could, to my beautiful friends who have emotionally supported me, to all the medical services who have been used; the list goes on, but we are just so, so thankful for each and every person who has helped us throughout this time. We wouldn’t have made it through without any of you.

We are so relieved this part of the chapter has come to an end. Here’s to 2024 continuing to produce good news, and here’s to staying in remission and never having to go through this again. 

This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 28 February 2024.