Tina Lawless from Maynooth, Co. Kildare, tells us about her
experience at the Barretstown Camp when she went with her Daugther
Jessica, Son Ross and husband Colm in 2006.
Jessica's Story
With the whole family on antibiotics for chest infections in
early 2005, mum Tina Lawless thought nothing of little Jessica's
cough and pale complexion.
But as she didnt seem to recover and picked up other bugs and
infections, Tina became concerned and decided to take the
four-year-old for a blood test.
"I thought I would just get a blood test and it would come back
saying she was a bit anaemic", said Tina, of Maynooth, Co
Kildare.
"But she had a cold sore and none of us had had one before and
it just seemed very odd thing for a young child. I took her to
Crumlin on March 6 and they gave her a chest x-ray and a blood
test. They quickly came back with the blood count saying her
haemoglobin was very low and that she would need a blood
transfusion immediately. It also showed that her bone marrow wasnt
working properly and she had no immunity to fighting infection. I
remember saying "It's not leukaemia is it?", expecting the doctor
to say "don't be so silly", but he didn't.
Jessica was very weak and tired and when she overheard that she
was going to have to stay in hospital she said "I'll miss you mum"
thinking we would be leaving her there. "No way am I leaving you
for a second", I said trying to hold myself together.
Once Jessica was diagnosed, chemo started immediately. Her hair
started to fall out after only a couple of weeks but overall she
did start to improve. We also had a bumpy start to her treatment as
she developed diabetes, a reaction to the steroids, which
thankfully didn't last. She also got an infection in her arm.
Tests showed that 96% of Jessica's blood cells were cancerous.
Within 28 days the chemotherapy had reduced this to 4% and a few
weeks later it was almost undetectable, putting Jessica into a
low-risk category. The family was told that Jessica would be on
treatment for two-and-a-half years, with the first nine months of
chemotherapy being the hardest.
Tina said "She was absolutely amazing. As far as she was
concerned, she was very sick but she was going to be fine. She just
kept looking at us and we kept smiling and saying everything would
be ok, so she just accepted it."
"Our family and friends were devastated but were truly
supportive. The practical help was invaluable. Thanks to them we
got through those dark days", Tina said. "You are living on the
edge and I wouldn't even have a glass of wine in case I wouldn't be
completely alert. Coming out of hospital was like bringing your
first baby home. I was a bit of a nervous wreck taking her
temperature every five minutes."
The family�- Tina, Jessica, Dad Colm and Ross, aged eight,�-
spent a weekend at Barretstown in autumn 2006.
"It was brilliant", Tina said. "The volunteers inspired me with
confidence to let go a little bit and let the children do their
thing and not be in their faces all the time. You get very
overprotective and hygiene becomes so important. You become
neurotic as a parent which doesn't help - it makes the kids more
nervous so you need to be positive and to relax. At Barretstown
there was that feeling of trust and everything had been looked
after."
"The whole experience is extremely tough for siblings too. I was
away for days at a time and everyone kept telling me Ross was fine
but when I saw him again after four or five days he was roaring
crying", Tina said.
"At Barretstown Ross went climbing the high ropes tower, horse
riding and a host of other activities, it wasn't all about
Jessica."
"Everyone who has a sick child should be able to go to
Barretstown. You are really treated so well and there is such a
lovely feeling of warmth and caring from everyone."
