Ellie was ill from 6 months till just before her 5th birthday this year. She started off with colds and viruses, each time going to the doctors only to come home with more anti biotics. Ear infections and then skin infections too. When the rest of the family caught a tummy bug that would last 5ish hours, Ellie would be down and out vomiting and all the rest for around 2 weeks. I remember her being well for a maximum of 4 days on the year she was 3. Eventually after being told "its that time of year" "everyone is getting sick" "she isnt eating the right food" I put my foot down and said some tests need to be done because it just wasnt right. There was no quality of life for her. A few days after a blood test i got a phone call from the doctors office asking me to come and talk to the doctor asap. The doctor said that she has parathyroid cancer. The blood tests that came back showed extremely high levels of something, cant for the life of me remember right now, and that it was a sure sign of cancer. I was floored!
We got a referral to the Mater Childrens Hospital Specialist clinic within a few days, it happened to be on a good day. They told me that Ellie looked fine, had not been admitted to hospital at any stage through her illness and that they had a lot of patients to treat so we would have to go on a waiting list to get scans.
Can i just say again... i was floored.
How can you expect a mother to be put on a waiting list to find out if her daughter has cancer?
I didnt have the energy to fight it so i went private. We found a fantastic doctor that did alot of studdies overseas, he was more advanced that the doctors i have ever come across here in Australia. We did more tests again, which showed many other problems she was having, her parathyroid gland now secreting normally though. We did allergy tests and chemical testing.
Her allergies consisted of: Wheat, dairy, yeast, egg, strawberries, green beans, nuts, Chlorine and dust mites. The last two being the most severe.
We put purifiers on all the taps in the house and binned a lot of teddies and things. She was put on supplements and osteopath visits. Her allergies went away and we became more relaxed with her diet, pulling back wheat and dairy when she did catch what was going around. In the end (which is this year) she became very healthy after we moved house as we lived on a main road.
All this being said you can imagine what life was like for little miss Ellie for the first 5 years of her life. Lots of cuddles, plenty of pain and misery. Mostly laying on the couch. Suffering from everything from croup to school sores. She hated gluten free bread and just wanted to eat what everyone else was eating. Her behavior was good considering, getting so much attention and affection made her a mummies girl. She still has bad eating habits that I'm trying hard to get her out of.
When she gets sick now it is still quite severe, but it goes away very quickly. We are due for more tests soon, just to keep an eye on her.
I love her so dearly (as i do all my babies) and i have such a responsibility to make sure she is safe, well and happy how could i send her to school?
We do so much together, she has such a strong yet sweet spirit, i want her to keep who she is and not be molded by people i don't know. School is the right thing for my Ryan and Sarah but Ellie is her own person. She has different needs.
And ok, I admit, I cant let go just yet. But that's not such a bad thing. It just means i love her.
6 comments:
Wow I could not even imagine going through this with one of my kiddos...So glad you were able to get some answers and turn things around...She is a cutie!
I'm glad Ellie is doing better now. That must have been so hard for her and you!
Love her curls!☺
I think that's why many of us home educate... we just can't send them off, way out there, and hope for the best.
What a relief that she is doing well currently. That's a pain I can hardly imagine.
It's not a bad thing at all. I admire you for being able to do what you think is best for her. So many parents just unthinkingly go with 'the flow', whether that flow is good for their particular child or not.
Poor girl to have all of those allergies. My sister's boy is the same way. He (and she, since she's still nursing him) can't have sooo many things, but his sister and father can. It gets .... interesting at times for her.
That must have been SO stressful for you! I'm so glad you got some answers, and things are much better now. My DH has reactions to chlorine too, though no-where near as severe as your daughters. We have seen a big improvement in his health since we moved and now use rainwater.
I know what you mean about not wanting to send them to school either. I can't imagine sending my DD to school, she seems far too young still!
Oh gosh the poor little thing. Looking forward to meeting you guys. :)
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