It has been 5 years since our daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour following some issues with her vision.

5 years of non stop hospital appointments.

3 different chemotherapy protocols.

Hair loss, sickness, lethargy, infections, leg pain, loss of appetite, diarrhoea AND constipation (her bowels like to keep her on her toes!)

Precocious Puberty and Sight loss.

She has missed school plays, school trips, birthday parties, holidays, days out and a huge chunk of her childhood.

It has been hard, at times it has nearly broken us and I have cried more tears in this time than ever before. My heart breaks when I stop, take stock and think of what the future holds for my little girl.

Taking things day by day is the only thing we can do, we plan ahead for hospital appointments and the odd event but in the back of my mind I’m always expecting the unexpected, that being said, it rarely makes things easier when we get bad or disappointing news.

When I look back to when we first started on this road of being oncology parents I’m almost glad I didn’t know what was ahead for us, when I collect everything together in my mind it is all extremely overwhelming.

So, here we are 5 years later. The anniversary no one wants to celebrate.