Cancer doesn't discriminate.
- Skye, Brydee’s mum
Call it ‘mother’s intuition’, but Skye knew something was very wrong when her normally bubbly baby developed an enlarged belly.
Diagnosis
The shocking diagnosis would come after several rounds of tests. Doctors found some abnormalities in Brydee’s white blood cells and in early July 2015, Brydee was officially diagnosed with leukaemia.
Treatment
Brydee started her treatment straight away and endured what no infant should: months of gruelling chemotherapy.
Skye had to give up her job to look after Brydee, and her mum had to move in with her to look after her other daughter, Allyrah.
The nurses were always very happy to see Brydee and would cheer her up. They put ‘too cute’ as one of Brydee’s conditions on her file. She had everyone’s heart.
- Skye, Brydee’s mum
Bone marrow transplant
Twelve months after Brydee was diagnosed she was ready to have her bone marrow transplant. She would later develop Graft Vs Host disease – a common complication following bone marrow transplantation.
Cancer does not only affect the patient. It affects the whole family.
- Skye, Brydee’s mum
Side effects
After a long and hard journey, Brydee is finally on her way to live the life of a normal baby, but she will have to live with the side-effects of her treatment. Brydee could enter puberty as early as seven and reach menopause as early as 20.
Recovery
While she’s enormously grateful that her little ‘superhero’ Brydee is in recovery, Skye says she worries about her little girl relapsing every single day.
It’s something I will have to learn how to live with – but I know without research my little girl wouldn’t be here today.
- Skye, Brydee’s mum
Share your story
Have you been touched by childhood cancer and would like to share your story? Please get in touch today.
