Cath has kindly agreed to trade sweat, blood and tears for hard cash, all in the name of a wonderful place - Ward 84

We have both been unfortunate and lucky enough to have first hand experience of this place.

Aoife arrived into our lives in June 2013 weighing in a hefty 9lb 5oz. She was utterly utterly perfect – and our life as a family began.

At 18 weeks old, Aoife began to refuse feeds. We weren’t overly concerned but after her weight remained static for a few weeks we took her to see a Doctor just “to check her over”.

The next 24 hours saw our lives change beyond recognition. Within 5 hours of a GP’s visit we sat in HDU waiting to be transferred to RMCH. We had been told that Aoife was very poorly and the results of a blood test confirmed something was seriously wrong.

We were transferred to RMCH – ward 84 and our life as we know it began and the next day brought with it a diagnosis of infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

The devastation and unimaginable pain this diagnosis brought with it was overwhelming. Still reeling from the diagnosis, we had to begin an intense and toxic chemotherapy treatment plan lasting for 2 long years the side effects of which were painful, severe and often life threatening. I truly cannot begin to tell you how proud we are of her for just getting through it.

Aoife has continued to grow into a wonderful, happy, healthy, amazing, brave, feisty, clever, witty, entertaining, cheeky, incredible little girl.

Had Aoife been born 50 years ago, and had she not received the treatment she has received to date, she would probably not be with us today.

Our experience has seen the treatment cause such great distress and pain to our daughter. It was such a dark time and ward 84 became our safe haven. The care we received there was truly incredible. We owe them an awful lot not least our daughters life.

Please – dig deep.

And thank you Cath – Come on you can DO IT.