Gracie was treated at Christies four times over the last three years. We are very lucky to live nearby this fantastic facility, the treatment they offer is second to none, the consultants and all the team there are absolutely amazing. 

We met Pen in 2015, when Gracie had relapsed for the first time, and we were told that we needed to have radiotherapy to her neck, after she had had the tumor in her lymph node removed. As we had already experienced Proton therapy in Florida, we assumed that the process would be much the same, GA every day, to make sure that Gracie was asleep so she wouldn't move whilst having the treatment. Then pretty much the whole day in the ward to recover before returning to do the same the following day. Pen is the play worker at Christies ,and her job is to recommend the best way for the children to deal with the treatment, and explained to us, that here, they do not like to use GA, unless absolutely necessary, so Gracie would be awake and have to stay still through the whole of the treatment.

We thought she was crazy at the time, Gracie had just turned four a few months before, and was never still, at any point in the day. How was she going to get her to lie down on a giant machine, in a room on her own let alone, stay still for the twenty minutes or so each day whilst she had the treatment.

To make things worse, Gracie would need to wear a mask, which would cover her whole face, neck and chest, that would be pinned to the table to keep her still. She would also have a mouth guard in her mouth. Not something that I ever imagined she would let anywhere near her, let alone be happy to put on.

Anyway, Pen seems convinced and after she spent a few play sessions with Gracie over the following week, she was adamant that she would be fine. Gracie helped Pen to make the mask, and decorate it. (I think there are still traces of glitter in the ward and in the radio suites today!) We took this home, and she practices putting it on when she was lay down in bed. We were so proud of her, she was really trying hard to get used to it and make Pen proud too.

So the first day of treatment arrived, and we were very apprehensive. No matter who much we had practiced, there was no comparison to actually being on the radio table, under the machine, then everyone leaving her in the room alone whilst the treatment was done. We had brought some distractions, Madonna album of course, which boomed out of the CD player and must have been a bit of a surprise to all the other patients, after they had just seem a little girl go into the treatment! Plus we had the microphone which I could use to speak to her whilst he was in the room. We were ready to go.

Typical Gracie, after all the worry for me and John, she sailed through it and then asked if she could come back the following day! Everyone gave her a cheer, and Pen was delighted. This was the start of a lovely friendship with Pen. Gracie, in her usual fashion, made quite an impact on the team and the other patients there, through each course of treatment she had. Pen also asked Gracie to get involved in article she had written about the importance of play therapy and treatement for children. Gracie was the model for the magazine! She also used Gracie as a case study for presentations, and this is still the case today. A little legacy Gracie has left there.

There are a lot of other people we met at Christies who were amazing. We got to know some of the older patients, who were both sad to see a child having to go through the same treatment they were, but who also were amused by her, and I believe that she really cheered them up, when they were finding the treatment hard to deal with. There are some stories with the photos in the gallary of the friends she made.

We will always remember how amazing Christies were, and especialy the lovely Pen and everything she did for Gracie and for us as a family to make a difficult time a little easier.

XOX