BelieveForChloe

A long time ago, I posted a post on here detailing my friend Chloe’s story, and it got shared by @thetruth365. 

I’m sure most of you following me now will know that Chloe battled stage 4 anaplastic medulloblastoma.

A lot has changed since then. Chloe is now walking on her own, learning to drive, dancing on stage, excelling at school, and looking more flawless and fearless than ever.

(That is a wig. Chloe received a complete round of craniospinal radiation as phase one of her treatment. As a result, the blood supply to the skin on her head has been permanently damaged, and Chloe’s hair is likely to never grow back properly again. I haven’t seen her regrowth since the wig went on (it’s one that is glued on), but last I saw it, she had thick tufts at the side, hardly anything on top, and thin patches at the back around her scar. Not exactly likely to make a 16 year old feel like a superstar, and one of the unfortunate lifelong effects of cancer treatment)

However, Chloe’s battle with cancer still makes itself known. Chloe is TINY. Like, maybe 5″3, 5″4 at most. And she was very thin, but fit, before she got sick.

When she started vomiting so severely during treatment that her stomach had to be bypassed by an NJ tube, I do believe Chloe’s weight dropped to that of a small eight year old. And even today, she is struggling to build it back up. She’s a pretty and dainty little thing, but she is incredibly thin, with knobbly joints and protruding bones.

Chloe does walk unaided now. But every step she takes is painfully obvious that something happened to this poor girl’s brain. Whereas most healthy people walk up straight with their feet parallel, Chloe walks slightly hunched over, with her feet about shoulder width apart, and turned out.

It is the ONLY way that kid can balance without a crutch.

Chloe is also learning to drive. But because of the damage done to her left hand during her tumor resection, she is not allowed to learn to drive a manual (stick shift for Americans?). While she passed her permit test to learn in an automatic, her parents aren’t even 100 percent sure if she is ACTUALLY allowed to drive. No-one has told them to stop, so they are teaching her in a quiet industrial area, but it’s one of her mum’s concerns. See the things cancer can take away from a child?

And this is one of the most saddening stories I’ve heard lately.

Chloe was in hospital at the same time as another little girl, Ruby. Ruby will be 3 in May...

... and she is battling leukemia for the SECOND time.

How unfair is that?

This little Ruby is absolutely stunning. She is a beautiful child to look at, and she’s got a heart of gold to match. She was diagnosed at 8 months old with infantile acute myeloid leukemia. After a LOT of chemo, she received her all-clear in June last year.

Then in early September this year, Ruby came down with a fever and a cold that she couldn’t shake. She slept all day, was miserable, sick, and snuggly.

On the 18th of September, incidentally, Chloe’s birthday, Ruby’s parents were told one of the most horrific pieces of news a cancer parent can receive.

Ruby’s cancer had come back.

Ruby was discharged yesterday (30/11/15) after spending 75 days in hospital. 75 days. For a two year old to be away from at least on her parents at all times. How awful is that?

Ruby will be readmitted to PMH on December 10 to begin chemotherapy for her bone marrow transplant. She will be in isolation over Christmas, unable to see her dad or her brother, or any other family. Only her mum.

If the bone marrow transplant does not work, Ruby may be out of options. Her cancer is rare and clearly difficult to eradicate.

Please, please pray for little Ruby, and let’s fight for a cure, for better treatments, so that kids like Chloe can embrace normality again, and kids like Ruby can have a FIGHTING CHANCE.

Please @thetruth365, please share this so others can learn about these girls. Let’s inspire the world to get behind this cause.