Harlee was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in June 2024. I wanted to set up a Go Fund Me page for Harlee and her family to support them during this terrible time. When your child is seriously ill in hospital financial considerations are the last thing on your mind. But the practicalities of multiple extended stays in hospital means that extra expense is inevitable. Any donations will ensure Lisa and Terence can focus everything they have on their daughter and also to create some wonderful family memories. Hello, my name is Lisa and I want you to meet my beautiful 2 year old daughter Harlee. She is full of so much love and happiness with the most cheekiest smile. A little miracle brought into our lives at the darkest of times. When one of my dearest friends approached me to start a Go Fund Me page for Harlee, it was important to us for people know our full story to really understand just how precious Harlee is. On Monday 19th June 2024, our world collapsed. Harlee was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). Nothing can prepare you for “your child has cancer”. I couldn’t breathe. How can this be happening to us? To our little girl? Haven’t we already been through enough? Back in March 2019, I was studying a degree in Business. I started suffering with severe headaches and loss of vision. After 6 months of tests, an MRI confirmed my worst fear, I was diagnosed with a Pituitary macrodadenoma (brain tumour). Terence and I had been planning our future together but that all came to a halt. I had to undergo emergancy endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery. The tumour was very large, compressing on my optical nerve. I had no time to digest what was happening, I just knew I had to be strong and hoped that I would pull through. After the surgery, I was left with a permanent visual defect in my right eye, and was now on medication for life as the tumour destroyed most of my pituitary function. But more devastating news was yet to come…… I may never conceive a child. All I had dreamed of was my own little family and now that could be taken away from me. I was crushed, but I had to just focus on my recovery, accept my diagnosis and manage this new life changing condition. A year later and I had the dreaded news my tumour had started to regrow. Another surgery was planned but this time a craniotomy. I had to put my degree on hold again and prepare for what was a bigger and more riskier surgery. They planned to remove the remaining tumour by making an incision through the top of my skull. The tumour was on the optic chiasma making it dangerous to remove and more high-risk, with a chance I could lose some or all of my vision. Thankfully, it went well, removing over 90% of what tumour was left and I could begin recovery again. Terence took time off work to care for me and once I was back to full health, we decided we wanted to start trying for a baby. On 17th September 2024, I got the best birthday present I could have ever hoped for…… I was pregnant. The feeling of euphoria was indescribable. After 18 months of distress we finally had something to look forward to. Sunday 30th May 2024, the day our lives changed forever. Harlee Willow Breckon was born. Our perfect little daughter. I couldn’t believe this beautiful, precious girl was here and was ours. She was going to be loved more than she would ever know, bringing Terence and I so much happiness when we needed it the most. We were complete and began our new lives as a family of three. When Harlee was 8 months old, another MRI confirmed the tumour remaining had started to grow again, but surgery was no longer an option. I was referred to Sheffield Hospital where I was advised Stereotactic Radiosurgery was the next step. In February 2024, I had the procedure. Leaving Harlee for the first time was very difficult but knowing it was for treatment was unbearable. I was a Mum now and needed to be fit and well to care for my daughter. After the procedure, a sense of both relief and anxiety came over me. If this was successful, we could finally move forward with our lives. Harlee was the one thing that kept us strong and positive for the future, the reason every-time something hard hit us we powered through and would not let it break us. The next 6-12 months were an agonising wait. My MRI scans were done and amazingly were both stable. I have never felt such relief, not to have to think about treatment was alleviating. I had a sense of freedom and wanted to enjoy every moment possible making memories with my family. In May 2024, just before Harlee’s 2nd birthday she contracted chicken pox then viral gastroenteritis making her extremely unwell. We visited A&E after vomiting for 18 hours. She was admitted onto the children’s ward with severe dehydration and placed on IV fluids. The consultants were concerned that her bloods counts were very low. They advised us this may have been caused by her illnesses and should rise. It was agreed to test them again in four weeks time. Two weeks later, Harlee got a fever which we could not control and we ended up back in hospital. Blood tests taken had not changed as expected and some counts were lower. They were sent to Leeds Childrens Hospital for further testing. Anxiety started to really hit us as we knew something was wrong. As a parent you know your child but we tried to keep optimistic in the hope it was nothing serious. 48 hours later we were on the oncology ward at Leeds Children’s Hospital, nothing or no-one could ever prepare us for what we were about to be told, “Harlee has Leukaemia”. I collapsed into Terence’s arms. How can this even be real? Why Harlee? Why our family? Our world had just completley crumbled around us and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what life for us now looked like. The next few days were a minefield of meetings with numerous specialist, testing and discussions around diagnosis and treatment. Harlee had to undergo surgery, a hickman line inserted into her chest, bone marrow aspiration and lumbar puncture with chemotherapy. Finally, we had the full diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). Her chemotherapy treatment plan will be for 2 years and 1 month. All our plans as a family are gone. The focus has now turned to us supporting our daughter through this horrendous ordeal and giving her the best life we possibly can. The last 6 weeks have been so tough on us as a family, adjusting to Harlee’s diagnosis and accepting she has leukaemia. We have been told that ALL is the most treatable leukaemia but like all cancer, nothing can be certain. Throughout every battle Terence and I have faced, together we have remained strong and positive, supporting each other at our most vunerable and never giving up. We are truely hopeful that Harlee will get through this. She has been an absolute superstar throughout the whole process, continuously smiling and been her sassy little self, getting the nickname “smiler” from the staff on the ward. She is honestly our little hero and we are so proud of her. Thank you for taking the time out to read our story.
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