Meet Ellie and her family...

For Adam and Rachelle, receiving their daughter Ellie’s diagnosis was a terrifying moment: their little girl had Leukaemia and needed immediate treatment in the big city. In the words of Ellie’s mum, this is what happened at that moment, and in the months after.

14 September 2018, around 11.20am, was the moment our lives got turned upside down. As a parent, I don’t think that that memory will ever fade. Our worst nightmare was now our reality. Our paediatrician told us that Ellie, our bubbly 3-and-a-half-year-old, had been diagnosed with High-Risk T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

We were admitted into the Children’s Hospital at Westmead that same afternoon. Our family packed up for what we thought would be a month long visit, and we have now been in Sydney for more than 14 months.

The 4-hour drive to the hospital felt like a lifetime. So much uncertainty. We called so many motels, trying to find somewhere close enough for our 14-month-old son to stay with my mum while we were in the hospital with Ellie. One of the hotel receptionists asked if we had contacted Ronald McDonald House Westmead. What a godsend to hear that this facility was available at such a stressful time in our lives.

Ellie was slow to respond to chemotherapy and was moved into the high-risk category quite early into diagnosis. After 2 months of treatment, we were told that Ellie would need to undergo a bone marrow transplant. We were so very fortunate that her little brother was a match, and together, as a family, we started the preparation for the transplant.

Our little girl has shown nothing but courage and strength, fighting for her life on more than one occasion. A lot of the time, even fighting with a smile on her little face.

The high dose chemotherapy and total body irradiation were extremely hard on her emotionally and physically, but we are so happy to say that Ellie is now 4 months post bone marrow transplant and is getting stronger every day!

Having a home away from home such a short distance to the hospital was the most comforting thing for all of us during Ellie’s whole experience. The House kept our family close together. It allowed our girl to have her favourite home-cooked meals and provided so much support to our whole family. Most of all, we were able to experience home life together during treatment breaks and in between hospital stays.

We are truly grateful to have become part of the Ronald McDonald House family. We are so lucky to have met such strong families, superhero children, incredible staff and selfless volunteers at the house.

With love, from one very thankful family