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Meg Higgs - Defying the Odds

  • Charity Auction

      13 June 2019
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    Hi Everyone,

    Rox here. You probably don't know me, but I set up this page for Meg and Arlene. I wanted to post a more personal ask and detailed update today.

    First off thank you to everyone who keeps on donating to this fantastic cause. The donations have slowed down considerably and as a result, I wanted to find another way to help reach our goal so I decided to throw a charity auction to try to raise some additional money.

    The auction is being held on the 19th of July at The Filter Room in Hawke's Bay. I've hustled and managed to get a number of individuals and businesses to donate items and services that we can auction. I'm still at it but so far these include weekend aways in bachs, tradies for the day, travel packs, building inspections, massages, car valets, brand audits etc.

    So here is my ask: If you know of anyone who has a service or item - pretty much anything of value - I'd like to speak to them on behalf of Meg and Arlene. Please reach out to me on roxanne@thebrandguardian.co.nz if you can help.

    Then secondly: Meg's treatment continues, and she has been in starship again this week with her Dad continuing her fight.

    Thanks again.

    Rox and the whole Higgs family.

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  • Update from Meg and Arlene - Mid May

      10 May 2019
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    Meg is nearing the end of her 7th round of chemo and her 3rd round of chimeric. The week started a bit messy and slow with threats of the medicine not arriving from Australia and treatment being delayed. After a few tears and a lot of stress, it eventually arrived and Meg’s treatment started late on Monday.

    Today is Meg's final day of chemo and chimeric treatment and she seems to be handling it a bit better than last time. As a result, her pain pumps have been turned down and she is not as sleepy.

    On Tuesday she was fitted for a radiation protection mask. It is a specially fitted mask that goes over her head while she is on the radiation table, in order to hold her still and in the perfect position. For Arlene, it was quite awful watching her girl lying still on a table while they seemed to smother her with plastic.

    She often comments on the fabulous staff and Meg's ability to handle those situations.

    The commencement date for radiation has not been set however, it could be at the end of this month. This treatment requires us to be here for one month so that is going to be a challenge, particularly for Arlene's other two children. Hopefully, they will get to come home on weekends.

    The family still have to return here before her next round of treatment whether that be chemo or radiation as Meg needs MRI/MIBG scans to see how well the chemotherapy and chimeric treatment is working so far. (i.e. Is that darn tumour shrinking?)

    Arlene says it seems almost easier sometimes just to continue in their bubble of treatment and recovery but they look forward with positivity and hope that it is melting away with all that is being thrown at it!

    This weekend is the Post Malone concert which Meg and her friends planned well before she got ill. Arlene is hoping that she will be well enough to attend it with her friends and that her friends will look after her.

    It is not easy but Arlene knows she needs Meg to have fun and just try to be a “normal teenager” while she can. Those times are few and far between for her.

    Arlene wants to thank you all for your continued support and love, it means a lot to them.

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  • Treatment Update as of 16 April

      17 April 2019
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    Chimeric is the new drug Meg is having which is a lot tougher to tolerate than the chemo alone.

    It is an antibody therapy which attaches to the cancer cells so the body recognises it to kill it. Unfortunately, it also binds to her pain receptors and requires more monitoring than the chemo alone.

    Meg is currently connected to 4 pumps and an ECG monitor. She needs regular weights as she also gets overloaded so then also goes on frusemide.

    She has the chemo first and then the chimeric after which takes 10-12 hours. It’s a long day for her but she does spend a lot of it sleeping thankfully!

    We remain positive and once again thank everyone for their on-going support.

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  • Update from Meg - one day at a time

      29 March 2019
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    Well, we returned home on Sunday after finishing the chemotherapy with the added regime of the chimeric (the new drug). This was much harder on Meg than the chemo alone so it has been a slow week for her in terms of recovery. She has been completely exhausted and has had continued nausea and lack of appetite. To top this all off she has had a nasty chest infection which keeps her awake with coughing a fair bit of the day and night. With her depleted immune system, she can’t fight this off easily. Her medication regime is almost a full-time job and keeping up with that is a challenge! All in all though each day Meg is getting better. She is desperate to not only feel better but to get back to school!

    We had a lovely visit from her school Principal and Dean this week and they brought a goodie bag and a beautiful card from many of the students. Kerri from The Acorn Project (Hawkes Bay’s cancer support group for family and teens) also called in with a care package and messages of love and support.

    The amazing generosity and loving messages continue to be a blessing and a shining light in our day. Again thanks so much to everyone. We have two more weeks at home and then it will be back to Starship to do it all over again. Meg remains positive and brilliant and is keen to get on with it. We are hoping next time it won’t be so hard on her as she won’t have the dreaded chest infection.

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  • Meg's new Regime of Treatment is Underway

      20 March 2019
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    Today (20 March) Meg is starting a new regime of medicine. Along with her chemotherapy she will be receiving the antibody therapy she first trialled years ago.

    The difficulty of it is that not only does it attach to the cancer cells to recognise them for destruction, but it attaches also to her pain receptors. This will likely cause her to be in a lot of pain so to say her family are a bit nervous is an understatement.

    Of course, she is in amazing hands at Starship and the team will do their best to keep her comfortable.

    (Day one is apparently the worst)

    Meg is still amazing and positive and just looking forward to the day being done so we know where we are at.

    One of Meg and Arlene's favourite things now is to read all the beautiful messages of support, love and encouragement they receive from all the donors. So a continued thank you from Meg, Arlene and the Higgs family.

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