Brave Rosie’s big battle
When Cassandra spotted a lump on her girl’s neck, she never imagined it was serious Cassandra Ebenstreit, 39, Gold Coast, Qld
Mummy, it hurts,’ my three-year-old daughter Rosie said, pointing to her neck.
Pulling her in for a hug to get a better look, I could see she was right. There was a red mark across her neck.
Rosie and her identical twin, Lily, were cheeky, active little girls, always getting into harmless scrapes, so I thought nothing of this little scratch.
‘It’ll go in a couple of days, sweetheart,’ I reassured her.
A few days later, though, as I watched Rosie and Lily bouncing happily on their trampoline, Rosie said her neck hurt again.
That’s when I noticed she wasn’t pointing to the scratch, but to a lump on the back of her neck.
What is that? I thought, calling her over and feeling the raised bump.
To my horror, it was about the size of an ice cube.
My husband, George, 39, and I knew it needed looking at straight away, so we took her to Emergency.
Despite several blood tests, doctors were unable to
nd anything wrong and weren’t concerned about the bump, so sent her home.
Over the next few days, however, our bright and bubbly daughter’s health deteriorated at an alarming rate – her temperature soared, and she struggled to keep any food down.
Even Lily knew something was wrong when Rosie was tucked up in bed instead of playing. The pair were inseparable and loved wearing matching out ts.
‘What’s wrong with
Rosie?’ Lily asked.
‘We’re not sure, sweetheart,’ I replied, truthfully. ‘But don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll be able to play soon.’
But ve days later, when Rosie was still unwell,
I took her back to Emergency while George stayed home with Lily.
This time, they kept her in and performed lots more tests, including a biopsy on the lump.
‘I’m very sorry but your little girl has cancer and will need to start chemotherapy immediately,’ a grim-faced doctor told us.
She had anaplastic large cell lymphoma – a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
George and I felt like breaking down, but we had to be strong for Rosie – and for Lily, too.
Rosie’s cancer was stage three, and she had a 70 per cent chance of survival if she responded well to treatment.
She would need six rounds
They loved dressing up as princesses together
of intensive chemotherapy, and we’d have to leave our Gold Coast home and move to Brisbane, where the hospital was better equipped to treat our girl.
Thankfully, Childhood Cancer Support, a not-forpro t organisation, would provide free accommodation.
We tried our best to explain to Rosie what would happen, and the hospital gave us special children’s books to help her understand her treatment.
‘Will Lily come, too?’ she asked.
Sadly, it was May last year and, because of COVID-19 restrictions, only I could go with Rosie to hospital for her monthly six-day chemo sessions while Lily stayed home with George.
It broke my heart to tell her she would be apart from her best friend.
After already enduring so many needles, Rosie was terri ed when we arrived at hospital in Brisbane, but the kind doctors and nurses were great at keeping her calm. The next few months were very tough.
Poor Lily was bewildered at the sudden separation from her twin. And, as well as the chemo, Rosie had ve admissions for fevers, and two to treat aggressive ulcers which left her unable to eat. Our brave girl kept ghting, though. She even got used to the idea of her gorgeous blonde curls falling out, after nurses explained the ‘Hair Fairy’ would give her money if she left a lock of hair under her pillow.
So Rosie did just that and was thrilled by her coin in the morning.
When Rosie came home from her rst chemo session, Lily was amazed by her sister’s bare head.
‘You look like a baby!’ she exclaimed, stroking it as Rosie giggled.
If Rosie was in hospital, they chatted on FaceTime every night about toys and what they’d had for dinner.
And when she was home, they loved dressing up as princesses together.
‘I miss you so much,’ Lily would tell her twin.
Lily was allowed to come to outpatient appointments, so the girls were given matching PPE gowns, to protect against COVID-19, and gloves and face shields.
We had to wrap the big gowns around their waists making them look like they had on princess dresses – the girls loved it!
‘Their bond helps Rosie through this,’ I said to
George, knowing how much she looked forward to seeing her sister.
Then, in December last year, after completing seven months of treatment, we were given the news we’d been longing for – Rosie was of cially cancer free!
Now four, she’ll have regular check-ups until she’s 18, but doctors are con dent Rosie’s future looks bright.
Medics may have saved Rosie’s life, but Lily is helping with her recovery.
Still a little weak from chemo, but wanting to keep up with her sister as she runs around, means that Rosie is quickly regaining her strength.
Rosie faced a big battle, but now the girls are back where they should be – right by each other’s sides. ●