During Romy’s time recovering from surgery on G4 Ward we made friends with our next door neighbour. Alice and Romy enjoyed playing, sat on the threshold of the doorway to each others rooms, but it wasn’t long before they were popping into each others rooms to play together. Alice’s baby brother Oscar was also an attraction for Romy and it reminded me of the times in the past Romy has ended up playing with her friends little siblings at home, often to the frustration of the friend wanting to play, but the pull of babies and toddlers is just too strong for Romy. This is the first time Romy has played with someone her own age for a very long time and it was so nice to see. It also gave her the motivation to get out of bed and move following her surgery. Coincidently Alice had a tumour resection for the very same rare type of cancer several years ago and continues to battle neurological conditions caused indirectly by her tumour. The chances of being in the next door room to a fellow neuroblastoma warrior was so slim, but a lovely coincidence- it was also our first chance to talk to other parents, something that I didnt realise we needed so badly in our lives, as this journey is such a lonely one.
While on G4 the highlight for Romy was definitely making a new friend. At every step of this journey there has been a positive aspect to some of the hardest of times, and in amongst the worry and angst of such a major surgery, this was definitely it. Romy also got to decorate some cakes for the upcoming Royal Jubilee.
After a minor hiccup where we accidentally got discharged (on day 5) without a supply of morphine and ended up back on the ward a few hours later with Romy in intense pain, we got properly discharged on day 7. The extra 2 days on the surgical ward made all the difference and she was able to walk out of hospital the second time around (all be it a bit wobbly and only a short distance before getting in the buggy), but seeing her walk out of hospital just 7 days after major surgery was amazing. She left hospital one kidney down but a large chunk of tumour less and a new friend to boot.
Helen & Tom
