Louisa Buttery

"When Louisa was born we were overjoyed. However, she didn’t thrive like other babies and our happiness was cut short when, at just three weeks old, our baby girl was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

Louisa spent her first six months at Great Ormond Street Hospital. It was extremely tough on us all. Our other children, Charlotte, then four, and Eddie, who was just two, made frequent trips to see Louisa and keep her company.

We realised Louisa was gravely ill when after three courses of chemotherapy she was still not in remission. Doctors advised us that she would need a bone marrow transplant, so the whole family was tested to see if any of us were a match.

Much to our relief little Eddie was found to be a match for his baby sister.

It was a tense time for all of us with both Eddie and Louisa having to undergo the painful
procedures involved in a bone marrow transplant.

Photo caption: Louisa during her treatment with sister Charlotte and brother Eddie.

We literally held our breath, praying that the procedure would work. We were all so incredibly happy when after the transplant and a fourth dose of chemo Louisa finally achieved remission in November 2004.

Louisa was finally able to come home in time for Christmas. It was such a special time for the whole family.

We felt nervous having Louisa at home as we actually missed the security of the hospital, but we were very well cared for by a team of community nurses and still made frequent trips to hospital for check-ups.

As time went on Louisa started to enjoy a more normal life, joining play groups and music clubs. As parents, we have had to learn to let go and not worry that the leukaemia is returning every time Louisa has a nose bleed or feels unwell.

Louisa is one of the lucky ones, she made it through and we are just so very thankful for our lively and energetic little girl.

We know that other families are not so lucky and if you can help CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA to try and beat this disease once and for all, we would all be so very grateful."

Photo caption:
Louisa, fit and well at 4.

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