Save lives for Elizabeth

In two and a bit weeks it will be two years since Elizabeth was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. We will be on our way back from a holiday in the new forest provided by one of the many charities that have helped me to give her amazing memories over the past two years instead of allowing her to remember all the bad stuff she went through and continues to go through. 

As the end of her treatment approaches in a few months her life is getting harder again. The treatments she has daily continue to make themselves known and they hit her harder each day. The vincristine she has every four weeks into her veins continues to have an effect on her ankle ligaments as well as other areas of her body and the lumbar punctures she endures every twelve weeks takes longer for her to recover from. 

I have never been one to mope around or try to make her story go viral, I have never asked for anything and in fact the thing I wanted most of all was for us to carry on as normal to live life and enjoy ourselves and show cancer that it can not beat her or rule our lives that despite everything we will do all that we can to continue being who we are and enjoying ourselves. However as I pack my bags to go to Florida this weekend and pack a bag for Alison I am sad because Elizabeth can not come with me. She would not be allowed to fly to America and we only just get away with the European holidays by the skin of our teeth and our pure determination. It reminds me that my little brave amazing girl has cancer and yes her hair has grown back but that does not mean she is cured. 

However one thing that I know has happened in the past two years and that is that complete strangers have saved her life. Her life and many, many others. Elizabeth had over 30 blood transfusions and over 20 platelet transfusions and she was one of the lucky ones. That is roughly 50 people who helped to make sure she survived. 50 people who selflessly donated a part of themselves and their time to saving the lives of people they didnt know, saving my beautiful daughter.

To help me celebrate the fact that we have got this far I ask you to go and Give Blood (https://my.blood.co.uk/) or register for bone marrow (http://www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-stem-cells/apply-join-our-register) or do something else equally amazing because every day strangers are saving lives and one day it might be yours or someone you hold dear to you. 

I can not think of anything I want more than to say to Elizabeth that her story helped save lives and I cant do that without you!