Merry Christmas

Ellie and the family had a fantastic Christmas this year.
Santa was very generous to Ellie this year. She got lots of Moshi Monster things, a digital camera, Harumicka, a portable DVD player and a number of DVDs.

Ellie received many Christmas cards and presents from many different parts of the world, there are to many to single out so we would like to thank everybody that took the time to send Ellie a card or a present.

Ellie is in great form at the moment and is feeling very well. She is spending her days and evenings colouring her Moshi Monster colouring book.

The Dixon family would like to wish all our friends and family a Healthy and Happy New Year.

We will return to you in 2013 and leave you with some recent photos of Ellie.

Getting ready for Christmas

Hi all, its December 7th and Ellie cannot wait for Christmas.
Still over two weeks to go but that Christmas feeling is in Crumlin Hospital and its lifting the sick childrens spirits. This weekend will be very busy for Ellie, on Saturday she is taking to the skies from Dublin airport along with dad and other children that attend Crumlin Hospital. I reckon the man in the big red suit will also be on the plane giving presents to the children. Should be great fun.

Then on Sunday she has the St. Johns Ward Christmas party, lots of celebs, pressies, fun and games.
This is with thanks to the wonderful staff on the ward. Not only do they work very hard while in the hospital looking after sick children, they give up their own time to prepare this event and ensure that every child in attendance enjoys the party this Sunday.

Chemo: Ellie is in the middle of chemo treatment at the moment but will have the Christmas and New Year Holidays free of chemotherapy. That certainly is good news and something to be thankful for.

We will post a few photos over the Christmas.

Halloween

Ellie had a fantastic halloween. She dressed up as Katy Perry and looked brill. Thankfully she had no bad effects from chemo this time other than a sore throat which she needed antibiotics for. Next week is her last chemo before her three week break. Since halloween is over we are all now looking forward to christmas especially Ellie. She has given her list in already and its very looooooonnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!
Lets hope Santa has enough room on his sleigh!!! Below are a few pics of Ellie as Katy Perry.

Ellie giving Chemo the oul 1 - 2

Hi all, very sorry for not keeping you posted these last few weeks.

Ellie is doing great and is currently on a three week chemo break. Three weeks of chemo begins next Tuesday but Ellie is in good form at the moment and is ready for it.

Ellie had a blood transfusion two weeks ago as her blood stats were very low. All is well now, and a huge thank you to all the men and women that take the time to give blood. It really does help sick children and adults, and in some cases it can save lives.

School is going well at the moment and Ellie is attending school most days (bar the week of the blood transfusion).

We just had a look at the calendar this week and noticed that all going well Ellie will be on a break from chemo during the Christmas and New Years holidays. She will still need to attend weekly but no chemo.
Happy days!!!!!

Will sign off for now, talk soon.
Here are some pics of Ellie recently.

Happy Birthday Miss Ellie

Well after the good news of the positive results from Ellies MRI, what better way to celebrate than with a birthday. Ellie will be 9 years old on Monday the 17th of September.
We had a lot of Ellies friends over to help us celebrate on Saturday afternoon. We had lots of sweets, cake, pizza and hot dogs.
We organised Little Miss Party Nails for the girls, Jacqui and Elaine kept the girls entertained by doing lots of lovely nail art, tattoos and jewellery making.

Ellie started maintenance chemo last Tuesday September 11th, all went well and without any sickness.
Her chemo sessions will be three weeks on then three weeks break and so on till September 2013.

A big thank you to everybody that has sent get well cards, birthday cards and presents to Ellie recently.
They have lifted Ellies spirits and put a smile on her face.

Talk soon.

Stable

Well we got a call from Our Ladys giving Ellie good results from the MRI she had last week.
Growth in the tumor has stalled and there may even be a very slight decrease in the size of it.
This is the best news we could have got, Ellie has gone through a lot these last few months and although this doesn't shorten the course of chemo. It means that we can plough into the next 12 months and a positive result is more likely after this MRI.

Ellie is back in the hospital for chemo tomorrow, she begins a twelve month period of three weeks of chemo followed by three weeks off and so on.

Thank you to everybody for their prayers and well wishes recently.

Here is a photo of Ellie in her school uniform with a little teddy bear.
The teddy bear was made by daddys friend Breege, thank you so much Breege.

Upcoming MRI

Hi, Ellie has an MRI scheduled for tomorrow Thursday the 6th.
Wont get results till early next week when she is in for Chemo.
Its going to be a long weekend for mammy and daddy.
Prayers please for a smooth MRI and positive results.

Carlow weekend

Hi all,

Ellie had a visit to the hospital this morning. Bloods are good, dressings changed and no more hospital visits till next Monday.

Ellie took a small break to County Carlow at the weekend. We all had a great time, Aaron and dad done some go karting and we all played bowling.

Ellie spent some time in the swimming pool but only up to her hips.......cant get Freddie wet.

Ellie really misses being able to jump and splash in the pool. When Freddie is finally taken out next year maybe we will have a big pool party to celebrate.

I'd just like to give a short mention to Abbies Army, www.abbiesarmy.co.uk

This is a charity set up by the proud parents of a beautiful princess named Abbie.

Brave Abbie lost her battle against a rare, incurable and inoperable Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) in September 2011.

Abbies partents set up this trust in honour of their daughter, please take a few moments to view the website.

Here are some photos from Carlow, one of Ellie looking very cool and another one of Ellie and dad waiting for the bowling ball to strike the pins. 

I'd say that one was a strike, what do you think Ellie???

Chemo week

Hi everybody.
Two visits to hospital this week, bloods and dressings on Monday the Chemo on Tuesday.

Tuesday was a very long day in the hospital. Ellie took a bit of a turn from the anti sickness medicine she got in Our Ladies.
She is doing a bit better now but is still a little out of sorts.
Three or so weeks till her first MRI since Chemo began, hopefully the results will be positive.

Tuesday was one of the more somber days in Our Ladies Hospital, lots of very sick children in the ward that day. More than usual I thought and there was no Clown Doctors or Magicians walking the ward to make us smile. Hopefully they will be back to brighten every bodies day as soon as possible.

Ellies birthday next month and she has asked for a bicycle as she finally learnt how to cycle a bike without stabilisers. Mam and dad will be bringing Ellie out to choose the right bike soon and something tells me its probably going to be pink in colour.

Once again thank you to everybody for the lovely cards and letters, and also for your continued support throughout this journey.

Talk next week.



 

Smile

Hi all,
Ellie just had bloods and dressing change this week so nothing out of the ordinary to report this week.

Ellie is in good spirits but seems to be getting very tired these evenings. She's been first to bed a lot this week which is not like her.

The hospital have put in place a new schedule for our weekly treatments which will see us having to spend extra time in the hospital.

Ellies hair is beginning to grow back on top ever so slightly.
Here is a photo of Ellie sitting on a very unusual looking bench in Donacomper Cemetery in Celbridge.
Ellie and daddy often go there to pay our respects.

 

So far so good

Hi all, before I start I'd like to apologies for the lack of an update last week.
Ellie was very unwell after chemo last week and had to go back into hospital. She spent the night on St. Johns Ward and 24 hours later she was much better thankfully.
On the upside Ellie got to see the magic show before she left the hospital, Ellie and the other children laughed so much their stomachs were sore.

To the staff on the ward and Mr. Magic a big thank you.
Laughter is a fantastic medicine.

Thankfully Ellie has just begun another short break so this week was just bloods and dressings, blood results were good.

We are looking forward to another three weeks chemo free and hopefully Ellie can put on a few pounds.

Thank you to everybody that has sent cards and well wishes. A special thank you to the ladies that made beautiful handmade cards.Below is a picture of just some of the hand made cards Ellie received.

We also got to see the Lorax 3D last weekend.
A great movie with plenty of laughs.

All going well

Ellie back in hospital yesterday, bloods are borderline and we need to keep a close eye on Ellies temperature. Ellie has a slight touch of a cold/flu so hopefully she can shake it off without having to go into hospital.

Hair is getting thinner but with the help of bandannas and some pretty cool hats Ellie is looking as beautiful as ever.

On another note Ellie went to Croke Park to see Dublin play Wexford with dad, brother Aaron and big sis Leah last weekend.
We all had a great day and the Dubs won.............again.

Here are some pics of Ellie and Leah doing Jedward jumps on way to the match.
Aaron is looking on pretty embarrassed in the background.

Talk soon.

Summers here

Not much to report this week.
Went to hospital this week, got dressing changed and had bloods taken. Blood result was good even though Ellie did look a bit unwell. No chemo this week thank God.
Ellie going to go to school for some of the last few days before the summer break.

Hopefully we get some good weather, talk soon x x x x

Chemo 19/06/2012

Well, that three week chemo break flew in.
Ellie put on a little weight in the three weeks(Pub lunches, frys for breakfast and loads of treats), you can see from our previous post that we all went to County Clare for a few days. 

Chemo went well yesterday although we were in the hospital all day. The day ward was very busy and very understaffed for the quantity of sick children present.
Ellie is very tired and weak at the moment but hopefully in a few days she will begin to come around again.
Hopefully she will make it back to school for a few days before the summer holidays begin.

Ellies hair has gone very thin and she wears a hat at all times but it shouldn't get much worse than it is now and hopefully will get better in time.

Talk in a few days x x x

Lisdoonvarna June 2012

Hi, we took a trip to Lisdoonvarna last week during Ellies chemo break.
We all had a great time, Lahinch, Doolin, Ailwee Caves, Cliffs of Moher, horse riding and lots more.
Ellie really enjoyed the beach in Lahinch and seeing Dusty the Dolphin in Doolin harbour.
We had to come back on the Monday as Ellie had an arranged visit to hospital before her chemo on Tuesday. A fantastic holiday, enjoyed by the whole family.
A big thank you to Peter in Mountain View Horse Riding Centre for accommodating us at such short notice. Situated between beautiful Fanore and Lisdoonvarna, If you are ever in the Burren region check out the horse riding centre
www.horseriding-ireland.com/

Here are a few photos from the trip.

Unexpected blood transfuion

Ellie went into Our Ladys yesterday as arranged to have bloods taken and a change of dressings.
Only two hours in hospital but as happened a few weeks ago she wasn't long home when the hospital rang requesting Ellie go back in for a blood transfusion. This was totally out of the blue as Ellie was in good spirits and was beginning to get her appetite back.

Blood transfusions are a common procedure when undergoing chemo.
We were uncomfortable early on with blood transfusions, and although we are not happy about it they are a necessity.

Blood transfusion went well and home for 9pm after a long day.

Talk soon
Byeeeeeeeeeee

Break from chemo

Hi everybody, sorry we haven't updated the blog recently. The good weather and the usual daily activities have kept us away from the laptop.

Ellie is now one week into a three week break from chemotherapy, we hope Ellie will find her appetite and put on a bit of weight. We are back in hospital tomorrow as usual but only for bloods and dressing changes.

Well done to our friends and family that did the Flora Womens Marathon in Dublin today, and a big thank you to those that done it for Ellies cause.

As the weather was good today we went to Clonfert Farm then to Arthur Guinness grave (my dad thinks he's the greatest) and then to the Mucky Duck for food.
We had a great bank holiday Monday.

SOS to Amber and Brooke

Ellie has received a number of get well cards from Amber and Brooke.


We don't know Amber or Brooke and unfortunately they don't put in a home address.
We would like to send Amber and Brooke a little thank you card so if you are reading Ellies blog please put your address with the next card and we will reply. 

Chemo May 15th

Ellie had her eight week of chemo yesterday(on her mammys birthday)
Don't ask how old mammy is please!!!!!!!! :)
Lets just say that next year is the big one!!!


Ellies bloods were good thankfully and all went well in Our Ladys.
Ellies weight is a problem but we are hoping this will improve when she gets a short break from chemo in a few weeks time.


The Clown Doctors paid the ward a visit and brought a smile to everyone's face.
Heres to a healthy and uneventful week.


CARDS
We would like to thank everyone that has sent cards to Ellie recently.
She even got a card from The Des Moines Oak Leaf Hockey Team (yes ice hockey)
Thank you to all the school children that have taken the time to make their own cards for Ellie, and to the teachers for giving their time. 

Ellie even got a personal card from Jedward this week.


A big thank you to Gaynor for the Jedward tshirt and Colleen Curnuck for the fabulous dress up book.


Thank you to everybody for your support and kind words.
It makes our journey so much easier.

Holy Communion

Hi all,
Ellie made her communion last weekend with her school friends.
This was really Ellies second communion as she made it in March before chemo started.
We had a wonderful day but was very tired by the end of the day.


We had tea and cakes in the school hall after mass followed by dinner in Greenes restaurant on the Main Street in Celbridge.


We also called to friends that were celebrating their daughters communion too. 


Below is a picture of Ellie with her best friends and Ellie with her school teacher.

Hi all,

Sorry I havent updated in a while but things have been a bit hectic.
Ellie had a double chemo on Tuesday and hasnt been great since.
She has had two tempature spikes since Tuesday so we've been to the hospital three days this week in total. Thankfully her tempature has come down a little and she has been allowed to go home. Ellies blood stats arent good either but as long as the tempature stays below 38 theres no need to go back into the hospital.

On a brighter note Ellies class are making their first holy communion this weekend.
We wish them all the best of luck and hopefully the weather will be kind for them.
Ellie hasn't been to school much these last few weeks but if alls well she is hoping to join the rest of her class in church for communion.

Sorry no photos to upload this week.
Will deffo have new pics to upload next week.

Take care and thank you for following Ellies blog.

Blood transfusion #1

Hi all, unfortunately Ellies bloods were low yesterday so she required a blood transfusion. 

Chemo was postponed until Tuesday of next week.

Ellie had been feeling pretty down these last few days but the transfusion has lifted her somewhat.

She is eating much better and hasn't sat down all day!!!

We've a bank holiday weekend this weekend and thankfully Ellie will be able to enjoy it. 

As the photos below show Ellie is still smiling and lifting our spirits.