Brave Lily’s full Inspirational youngster tackled UScancer treatment withasmile andmade newfriends
with the Jacksonville Sharks cheerleaders Lily picked up these Disney-inspired ears It was the closest Jane Douglas had come to crying during a nightmare year.
But it would not be sorrow sparking them.
Instead they would be tears of joy as daughter Lily ended cancer treatment after 409 gruelling days.
The date will remain etched in Jane’s mind – Tuesday, June 11, 2018.
Finally, after so much pain, 10-year-old Lily had finished her treatment.
The location was the UF Health Jacksonville hospital in Florida. Lily had been there for nearly two months receiving proton treatment and was about to ring the bell signifying the end of her journey.
Now back in Perth, reflecting on that moment, Jane said: “I think it really hit me when she was ringing the bell. Lily said to me ‘don’t you dare cry.’ I haven’t actually cried, although I cry at other kids stories. I didn’t want to cry because I knew if I started I might not stop. But when I got back from the hospital after she rung the bell and started writing about it on Facebook, I just thought ‘oh my God, that’s it finished’.
“I spoke to another parent we got close to and they said the exact same thing. She said it wasn’t until her daughter went back to school, then she just broke down. I hope that doesn’t happen with me.”
The moment must have seemed a long way from the day, 14 months previously, when doctors had given Jane the devastating news her beloved daughter had Ewing’s Sarcoma.
At the time, she was given a small chance of survival.
Talented dancer Lily had experienced pains in her leg while performing and doctors were convinced it had spread.
“I think the only time I really thought she was not going to make it was the first few days,” Jane recalls.
“My whole body went into shock, I didn’t know how to deal with it. I thought to myself, I can’t go on like this. I haven’t cried once since then. If bad thoughts have come into my head I’ve just said to myself ‘don’t be daft’.”
Thankfully, Jane’s optimism was not unfounded. Further tests revealed Lily had fractured her leg and the cancer had not spread.
But she still faced an uphill battle. She underwent 118 intensive courses of chemo and a major operation to remove her shoulder blade.
All through it Lily kept on smiling, and kept on dancing, defying the odds as she fought back against cancer. In April she was told her scans were clear.
Jane has been told there is an 85 per cent chance of the illness returning, but she remains defiant.
She said: “We just need to deal with that. I think you can read too many statistics. They said to me the way she has come through it has been incredible. No-one realised how well she would be.
“Worrying is not good for her, it’s not good for anything. We just need to pray it won’t return.
“If anyone was going to beat this it was Lily. She’s been so strong and never complains. If there are 15 kids