Girls just want to have fun.

In many ways Leah’s experience of our 14 weeks in Bristol was quite different to mine.

For starters she spent much of it in isolation – either on the bone marrow transplant unit or in her ensuite room on the beautiful purpose built Adolescent Ward.

Her room was lovely but her world was very small.

My world was much bigger.

When Nic was over visiting Leah, I was “off duty” by day and able to explore Bristol on foot – a very beautiful City.

One day I was heading to Za Za Bazaar for lunch with my sister, when we happened upon a very old church built into the remains of Bristol’s City Walls.

This Church of St John the Baptist was open to the public and we went inside and got chatting to the two volunteers who were manning it that day.

As soon as they heard about Leah they offered to pray with me for her on the spot – it was a very precious moment.

A subsequent visit to google elicited the information that this church was “built in the 14th century as a place for travelers to offer prayers before a journey“.

Another obvious difference between Leah’s experience and mine was that she was often very ill – symptoms of her illness, side-effects of treatment, complications of transplant etc.

Leah had nausea, frequent vomiting, fever, rigors, nose bleeds, mucositis, diarrhea, hemorrhagic cystitis, urgency, frequency, incontinence, insomnia, bone pain, joint pain, muscle pain, skin rashes, tiredness and weakness, though thankfully not all of these occurred simultaneously.

The isolation made Leah very home sick and she pined for friends and family.

I also missed friends and family, but at the same time I benefited greatly from making friends with other parents in a similar situation.

Because Leah had always been treated through the adult services at home I didn’t have any contact with other oncology mums in Ireland.

I made deep and lasting friendships in Bristol with some amazing people. When Leah was subsequently in ICU in Belfast & critically ill, I received beautiful heartfelt messages of support from these parents, in a real outpouring of love.

However the best thing about Bristol for me was that I was completely released from all the other responsibilities and concerns in my life and had only one concern every day when I woke – Leah.

Now that Leah is no longer here, I thank God that for those 14 weeks when I had no distractions, no domestic responsibilities, no housework, nothing other than the care of my beautiful but sick daughter.

In the midst of it all are some very happy memories.

There’s the week in early September when we knew her transplant was successful but the post transplant complications hadn’t yet set in and we had the “sneaky” trip out of hospital to Bristol’s flagship Primark store.

Leah spied the Costa cafe in store and pleaded successfully with me to let her have a drink and a bun – we must have broken every post transplant rule in one fell swoop – I was really panicking, but what could I do – girls just want to have fun!

There was the warm September evenings after the shops were closed when we walked down town from the hospital to see the Gromits and had to get a taxi back because Leah’s legs wouldn’t carry her any further.

When our consultant found out he sternly reprimanded us and said that for her own safety Leah needed to live in self-imposed exile – I knew he meant well so we behaved ourselves after that wee “break-out”!

There were the many good times in SAM’s House spent baking buns & tray bakes & just hanging out with other families.

There’s the beautiful Royal Fort Gardens beside SAMs House where Leah & I regularly walked & sat on a bench to chat or text.

We used to sit really still just to see how close the grey squirrels would come, then Leah would try to photograph them because she thought they were so cute.

At one stage the DVD player in Leah’s hospital room didn’t work so the support worker from the Teenage Cancer Trust brought us a portable DVD player.

We ordered films online that we both liked. 

At night we would snuggle up together in her hospital bed to watch them, while munching through a bag of Galaxy Minstrels.

Then there were the visits from family or friends – these were very eagerly awaited events.

Depending on where we were, most visitors got a guided tour of either SAMs House or the Adolescent Ward, with as much pride as if they were being shown around our own house – it was, after all, our “home” even if only temporary.

On Sundays, if we had stayed overnight in SAMs House, Leah would have a lie on while I went to a brilliant church called Pip n Jay.

When I got back from church we would cook dinner together – usually sirloin steak – I had black pepper sauce and she had gravy. We would have potato croquettes and roast potatoes, vegetables and lots of Yorkshire puddings. Ice-cream was usually on the dessert menu.

Afterwards she washed and I dried. Leah loved her food and when she was well enough to eat, I just wanted everything to be really tasty.

When Leah was in hospital she would send me to Starbucks for a peach and mango frappuccino or to M&S for a particular milkshake we both liked or for a wee tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream from Tesco or some frozen yogurt from Sainsbury’s.

I loved the fresh air and exercise and the chance to see around me that came with these shopping excursions.

For our last few weeks in Bristol the post transplant prohibition on takeaway food was lifted so we had treats like Domino’s pizza one day or a Chinese takeaway another.

Because I only had Leah to think about, her wish was well and truly my command, and that, for both of us, was such a blessing.