Paul said it all but I also wanted to say I am so amazed at Ellie’s strength and courage in battling her Leukemia. She’s definitely kicked it’s butt! I’m so happy to have our little family back under one roof. Paul and I won’t miss having to kiss one of our girls goodbye for days on end in order to be with the other one. Ellie won’t miss being woken up to a team of 6 - 8 people pulling back a curtain and surrounding her bedside. Annabelle won’t miss not spending nights and weekends without her little sister in the house to play and chat with. And we won’t miss sleeping in a creaky roll away bed half of every week for half of a year, eating with plastic utensils, and using a single toilet and shower shared with an entire ward full of parents. The small stuff, I know....but also the reality.  
Lastly, we are so grateful for your continued love and support. You have made a difficult situation more bearable and for that we are so grateful xx[...]

We are very excited to announce that today, Ellie completed her main treatment and was discharged from Sydney Children’s Hospital!! We are over the moon to have our family back at home after a long and hard-fought 7 months of intensive treatment.
 
The entire ward’s medical staff gave Ellie an amazing (and emotional) farewell, showering her with cards, gifts, and love. They are truly incredible humans, with whom we have become very close.
 
Ellie didn’t entirely meet her blood counts for release however, given she has been tracking very well in the last week and we can see her counts slowly climbing, the team was content for her to be formally discharged from in-patients. For the next couple of months, Ellie will have weekly clinic appointments and blood tests, eventually transitioning to fortnightly, then monthly, and this will last for at least 2 years. Based on how Ellie progresses in the next month or so, she will likely have her central line removed under general anaesthetic at the same time as her next Bone Marrow Aspirate and Lumber Puncture, and this is another significant milestone.
 
We are cognisant that Ellie’s journey is not yet over, and she will remain on several anti-biotic and anti-fungal medications for some time as well as needing to have all her childhood vaccinations repeated. We need to be very cautious of her exposure (particularly in the current environment) and we understand that the slightest temperature will see her re-admitted to hospital for immediate antibiotic treatment and investigation of the cause of her temperature.
 
We are immensely proud of everything Ellie has achieved over the last 7 months and we are confident it is onwards and upwards from here. We’re eager to see her health continue to improve, her energy levels increase, and her re-introduction to school and life as a happy, healthy girl.
 
In other news, we will soon adopt a puppy Groodle (just like the one on Ellie’s card from the nurses as seen in attached photos) whom we are due to receive into our home in August. This has been Ellie’s wish from early in treatment and he (yet to be named) will be invaluable for Ellie’s healing.
 
We want to again thank everybody for your continued love and support for our family. We will continue to update you as Ellie’s residual treatment progresses, are share some new puppy pictures along the way!
 
PC[...]

Last Wednesday, 7th July, Ellie went back into hospital to commence her fourth, and FINAL, round of chemotherapy. It felt a little surreal getting to this point in our treatment marathon. We know there is still more ahead of us, but it felt pretty darn good to get to this point . And then, yesterday, 11th July 2021, at 6 pm, the nurses hung her final dose of chemo. All of the nurses and her treatment team are chuffed for her, as are we! To commemorate this milestone we made a poster today and put it above her bed. We are so proud of Ellie for continuing to fight the fight![...]