I first came across Sienna's Journey via a Facebook post shared by an old school friend. The post, a heartbreaking story of a poorly little girl brought tears to my eyes. I soon discovered that my friend that shared the post, Sarah, was related to the little girl and that Sienna was Sarah's niece.
I have followed Sienna's Journey since that moment and want to share her story with you. So, this month's charity spotlight is shining on Sienna's Journey.
Sienna's story starts in November 2012. She is 20 months old, a baby, when her Mum and Dad are dealt a devastating blow. Sienna is diagnosed with Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma, cancer of the specialist nerve cells, called the neural crest cells. She faces not just months but years of treatment and then there's more bad news as Sienna is diagnosed as having a rare heart condition, cardiomyopathy. This left her treatment options limited but the brave little girl battled through it and over the last four years Sienna has undergone various tests, operations and treatments including chemotherapy. She's had tubes in and tubes out. Infections and antibiotics. Scans and re-scans. She has spent Christmas in hospital and been made infertile by the treatment.
Through it all Sienna has been incredibly brave and has smiled. A truly dazzling smile. I feel this has to be down to her amazing, caring and supportive family. Her Mum and Dad, her siblings, grandparents and aunt and uncles. Their love has kept a terribly poorly little girl smiling and helped her battle through this horrible disease.
Sienna is now in first remission but sadly this won't be the end of her journey. She will continue to be monitored throughout her life and has to have regular checks at at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This isn't just because Sienna has been so ill. It is also because Neuroblastoma has an 80% chance of returning and there is no protocol for further treatment in the UK. With this in mind Sienna's family are trying to raise enough funds for treatment should this horrible disease return.
If you'd like to read more about Sienna and her journey, please take a look at the gofundme and Facebook pages.
Let's keep Sienna smiling.
Thank you
Mummy Snowy Owl
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment