Anyone thats knows me will be surprised to see me participating in this event but as a parent of a child with cancer and has also been a recipient of the kindness and generosity of Aoibheann's Pink Tie I want to give back to the charity and support familys now and in the future facing the same heartbreaking diagnoses we received. Aoibheann's Pink Tie offer both emotional and financial support from place to stay close to the hospital to the chemo duck and hero doll which helps parents explain to their children the road that lies ahead. So together with my amazing work colleague Liz and wicked sister-in-law Lorraine along with a few hundred women we are going to brave the Irish Sea in support of all children fighting cancer and especially all the beautiful children lost to cancer.

In my profile picture is our beautiful little girl Aoife on her 4th birthday, as you can see from the picture she is a happy, healthy little girl a few days after this photo was taken our little girl became unwell suddenly and within hours she deteriorated and I took Aoife to A&E in Crumlin Childrens Hospital. The medical team seen to us immediately and began tests and scans but nothing appeared. Following more tests the next day the consultant visited and said "I'm very sorry, Aoife is being moved into the care of the Oncology team". Our world fell apart, there are no words that will ever explain the pain, there was questions screaming in my head, I could struggled to speak through the tears. My little girl asking "Mommy, why are you so sad".

Over the next few days we found ourselves living in the unknown as we awaited the results of more and more and more tests which began immediately, x-rays, ultrasounds, MRI, CT scan, heart scans, we spent hours talking to the medical team and decided the best treatment was to remove the tumour and one of Aoife's kidneys. After surgery further tests on the tumour were worse than we initially taught, the cancer was stage 2 and our little girl needed 6 months of chemotherapy to get her better. Now its was our turn to explain to our little girl that she needed the strongest medicine in the world and the only way to know the medicine would be if her hair fell out.

We started chemo in April 2021, Aoife always maintained her beautiful smile, her gorgeous blue eyes and her infectious sence of humour throughout her treatment. She got us through the toughest times as she battled the effects of chemo, she cried from the pain, lost her energy and struggled to keep up with her friends in playschool, and even the loss of her beautiful curly hair. 

At the end of September 2021 Aoife finished treatment and it was her turn to ring the end of treatment bell to the cheers of me, her Daddy, her little sister virtually on the phone and the amazing team who cared for her. Then we said our goodbyes to the incredible team on the ward and promised to only ever return as vistors.

Today Aoife is a happy, healthy 6 year old, who loves school, her friends, arguing with her little sister, her toys and weekend adventures and has her childhood back.

The pictures I have chosen for this page are both very special. The first is Aoife 3 days before she became unwell and the second is our family on the last day of Aoifes treatment.