Harry’s Story
My name is Gemma. I am a mum of two children, Harry 9, and Hannah 5.
My son Harry was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome in December 2021. He was seven years old. We never thought that cancer would come to our door. We thought this was something that happened to other people. Not us. Not our Harry.
We were told two days before Christmas ‘21 that he would need a bone marrow transplant and that the procedure would need to take place in Bristol. Harry’s health deteriorated in the months leading up to the transplant, so he needed to receive chemotherapy to reduce the growth of leukaemia cells before the procedure. Harry was terrified of needles and worried a lot about his hospital appointments.
As a mother, you want to protect your children from the things that frighten them, but how do you explain to your six-year-old that the thing that scares them most is the same thing that will make them better?
When the time came for Harry’s transplant procedure, my husband William and I prepared everything for the trip to Bristol. But while we were eager to get going for Harry, we were heartbroken to leave our daughter Hannah behind. She stayed at home with her grandparents while we took Harry to Bristol. We were apart from our two-year-old daughter for 13 weeks.
William and I were so torn. At a time when being together meant so much, we spent so much of it apart.
While in Bristol, we met other families in the same situation as us. While it showed us that we weren’t the only ones facing this nightmare, we were still devastated for them, as we knew exactly what they were going through.
After we returned from Bristol, Harry still had to continue treatment. With rounds of vaccines to build up his immune system, alongside more medication and regular bloods, we were far from finished with his cancer diagnosis.
It wasn’t until then that the stresses of my son’s cancer, and the 13 weeks separated from my daughter, began to overwhelm me.
Because we had been so focused on Harry’s transplant and on him getting better, we were living in survival mode. I didn’t realise until we were the other side of the procedure just how much of a strain it was putting on our family. I began to realise, at that point, that we needed help. A social worker referred us to Cancer Fund for Children and we saw, first-hand, the incredible work that they do for children, young people and families impacted by childhood cancer.
Shortly after our initial referral, we were introduced to Helen, our designated Cancer Support Specialist. Helen came to our home to spend time with both Harry and Hannah, as well as to chat with me about what we had all been through. Helen has been amazing; she and Harry got on so well from the start! He loves her visits to his school, especially when they work together on his cancer journey scrapbook. She even helped him through his fear of injections in their one-to-one sessions. So much so, that it doesn’t even bother him anymore; he just rolls up his sleeves and let’s the nurses do what they need to do!
When my family stayed at Daisy Lodge, we were so well looked after. The facilities were amazing; the kids could play and take part in different workshops, while my husband and I could enjoy the different spa treatments available.
There were four other families staying at Daisy Lodge while we were there, and not one of us talked about cancer for our entire stay. We were all there for the same reason, to just relax and spend quality time with our family.
They have supported not only Harry after his procedure, but also Hannah, my husband and myself during an extremely difficult and frightening time in our lives. Their support allowed us to forget about Harry’s cancer for an afternoon, thanks to Helen’s visits, for an evening, thanks to the arranged family events, and for days at a time, thanks to our short break at Daisy Lodge.
