For those who don't know me through the mailing lists at Egroups, Stevie-Lou is my sister, Sally's daughter. She was born on 2nd July 1989.

She was diagnosed with M1 Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in June 97. We saw some early warning signs but had no idea that the excessive bleeding, unexplained bruises and boils with no fluid were a symptom of the cancer. After a few days of feeling "under the weather" she developed a rash, which when you rolled a glass over the spots they didn't disappears. There had been a rather large meningitis campaign on the TV and we were all told that if the spots didn't disappear that you had to go straight to the doctors. Sally rushed her to her local doctor who agreed that the rash was not "normal" and Stevie was taken straight to the Bristol Children's Hospital, where they ruled out meningitis fairly quickly, but, told Sally that they were looking at Stevies white blood cell count. As soon as I heard this I knew deep down what they were looking for and within an hour they told us the news that every family dreads... "your daughter has cancer" I cannot describe the sheer horror and terror we all felt, this isn't the sort o thing that happens to us, it happens to someone else, not US. Well it had happened to us, and the next few days while Stevie was undergoing tests to discover which form of leukaemia she had were a nightmare, full of ifs, what's and maybes. Finally we heard the news that we'd dreaded, AML M1, this is one of the most virulent forms and fairly rare in children. Her Professor was brilliant though, full of optimism and hope.

Over the next few months we watched as the chemotherapy bullied her immune system and she battled the infections that she was open to. For a while she was on the critical list and we feared the worst., but, slowly she rallied round and came through the treatment.. There was then the wait for all the test results...at last The leukaemia was in remission. We knew the war was still to be won, she'd just won the first battle. Now we had to wait and see if the leukaemia came back.

Over the next 18 months or so she had to have regular blood tests interspersed with visits to the hospital. Life was improving for all of us, with each negative blood test we all breathed a little bit easier and the horror receded further to the back of our minds. Life for Stevie was easier, no longer did she look like an ill child, her hair was growing and she was back at school, playing with friends, doing all the things that little girls of 9 should expect from life. But, there was still that feeling of "what if it comes back?" We knew what the protocol would be, we knew that a bone marrow transplant was her only hope but things were going great and each day the chances of relapse were smaller.

Then in May 99 on a routine blood test we had the phone call from the hospital that we had been dreading... the results weren't good and Stevie was to go to the hospital the following day for a bonemarrow test. Well it had happened the leukaemia was back, but this time chemo wasn't the only treatment she was to receive. She was to have the highest doses possible together with full body radiation in readiness for the bone marrow transplant.