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Support for little Layla & her family through her Leukemia journey

  • Trip to Christchurch before Christmas

      10 December 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Layla surprised everyone on Monday 8th December with her blood counts being recovered enough to fly back to Christchurch for a couple of procedures (lumbar puncture with intrathecal chemo and bone marrow aspiration) and surgery to remove her Hickman line and replace it with a port. We flew down on Monday night ready for surgery early the next morning.

    She did amazingly well during and after the GA and aside from being sore at the surgical site she is back to her usual self trying to get into everything and practicing her crawling.

    It was just a quick trip down this time as we travel back on Thursday.This was our last trip down to Christchurch with Layla now having started maintenance therapy which consists of oral chemo every day and blood checks every 4 weeks.

    We are ready to see the end of this year but so grateful to all be home together for Christmas 🎄

    With love,

    The Slaughters

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  • Last chemo cycle almost done

      18 November 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Layla has finally started the second half of her delayed intensificaton chemo cycle, the last cycle before maintenance therapy.

    She finally count recovered last Monday (10th Nov) and has completed one of the two blocks of chemo left. We are waiting until Wednesday before checking whether she is count recovered to continue the last block of chemo with the final dose requiring different blood counts. We are hoping that there will be no delays with this last block so we can get home by the end of November to recover. Layla then has to come back to Christchurch for another Bone Marrow aspiration and intrathecal chemo at the start of maintenance therapy, but we only have to be here a few days for that.

    Bailey has been down here in Christchurch for the last 3 weeks. Layla has just loved having her sister around and lights up every time she sees her. Jordan and Bailey head home on Sunday and unless Laylas cycle is delayed again it's likely the last time they will come down this time.

    Layla has been coping amazingly well and is catching up on her milestones now too which is nice to see. She is a few months delayed due to being so severely ill for a few months but is progressing nicely.

    We can't wait to be back together as a family at home again.

    The Slaughters xx

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  • Layla is 1!

      28 October 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Layla is one today!

    What a year it has been, not at all how we thought or wanted her first year of life to go. When we got her cancer diagnosis we never expected to still be away from home in Christchurch for chemo but we are just so grateful that she has made it to 1 yrs old and we can celebrate her birthday.

    Layla has coped with the 1st intense part of this chemo cycle (delayed intensificaton) very well and we are now waiting for her blood counts to improve so she can continue on with the 2nd shorter part. It has unfortunately been delayed by a week already due to her neutrophils and wbc being too low. We are hopeful that we will be able to get home before the end of November where Layla will continue on with treatment in Wellington.

    The next step is maintenance therapy which consists of oral chemo every day for approximately 15-16months. We are grateful that the intense chemo stages are almost done and we can see home on the horizon where we can adjust to a new normal. Layla will still have a lower immune system and we will have to be very careful and monitor her closely so she doesn't get sick.

    Layla is starting to catch up with her milestones that she has missed or been delayed due to being severely ill with chemo side effects. She is commando crawling all over now and is learning new sounds each day. She has a few more teeth about to come through and just loves having her sister around to entertain her.

    The Slaughters xx

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  • Layla update October 5th 2025

      5 October 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    We have been back in Christchurch for 4 weeks now and Layla has been coping well so far in this cycle.

    She started chemo on the 8th September and was able to complete two full blocks (6days) of chemo but a couple of days into the third block her blood counts dropped too low to continue the chemo block.

    This past week Layla's counts have still not been high enough to start the fourth block of chemo. Layla unfortunately picked up a cold and nasty cough so it has been good for her to have a break and allow her body to recover from that.

    We are back in tomorrow to check her blood counts again to see if she can continue on with her treatment. It's been an anxious few weeks especially with her neutrophils dropping so low they've been barely readable, as it was at this point in the first induction cycle that she got so sick.

    We are so grateful that she has not become severely unwell during this cycle and has enjoyed having Bailey staying with us at RMH for the last two weeks for some sister bonding.

    We continue to stay as outpatients at RMH and go in almost every day for bloods tests, transfusions and I've meds. We're waiting for her to be able to continue her chemo so that she can finish this cycle and we can return to Wellington again.

    Ash & Layla xx

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  • Back to Christchurch for the 5th cycle

      7 September 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    And we are back again in Christchurch for Laylas next cycle for the next couple of months. They said it would be harder to return after being home for a bit and it absolutely is.

    My heart is breaking having to leave home again and to be separated from my beautiful Bailey and amazing hubby too. Layla will need to be monitored closely as the oncologists are worried about how she will cope on this cycle due to high treatment mortality with infantile leukemia.

    So back Ronald McDonald house, our home away from home where we know we will be well looked after by the amazing people here!

    This next cycle that starts tomorrow (8th Sept), is in two parts with the first part being four very intense blocks of chemo which is similar to the induction cycle that Layla got very sick from. We are praying that she will have no severe side effects this time and she will amaze everyone with how well she does on this cycle! We're gonna beat this cancer!

    Ashleigh Slaughter xx

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  • Back home for a month on the 4th cycle

      27 August 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Layla started her fourth cycle on the 1st August after 2.5 weeks delay due to her blood counts not being recovered enough.

    She has been coping well on this cycle and Layla and Ash got to come home to Wellington again for the first time in 5months.

    Layla just loves being around her sister, and Bailey loves playing with her until she pulls her hair. 😅

    It has been so nice being home for a bit and being together as a family again, and seeing the girls playing.

    Unfortunately Layla and I do have to go back to Christchurch to start Laylas 5th cycle of chemo called OCTADAD, which will be up to 9 weeks. We anticipate this starting the 2nd week of September.

    Her primary oncologist has told us that they are worried about how she will cope on this next chemo cycle as it is very intense and on the protocol she is on they have seen an increase in treatment mortality. She will be monitored closely and will be on lots of extra medication prophylactically in case of infection.

    We are praying and hoping that she will not suffer any severe side effects from the chemo on the next cycle and that we can get back to Wellington again soon after it's done to continue treatment.

    In the meantime we have been enjoying being together.

    The Slaughters xx

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    • 28/08/2025 by Susan

      Dear Ash and Jordan I appreciate your updates and the way that each one comes with a photo of your marvellous baby girl. Your hearts have been through so much. I think you're amazing. And our God is too, the way he stays so close, including in darkest valleys - Psalm 23. Love and prayers, Susan.

  • Layla is 9 months old!

      28 July 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Layla is 9 months old today, she is rolling around and babbling at every chance she can get. Alongside this comes the realization that more than half her life has been battling this awful disease.

    We are still in between cycles at the moment with her 4th cycle (Blinatumomab continuous IV infusion for 28 days) having been delayed by 2 weeks already as her nequtrophils and white blood cells haven't been high enough. We are back in hospital twice a week for blood tests to check this.

    She goes for another intrathecal chemo procedure tomorrow under general anesthetic and we are back in hospital on Thursday for more blood tests with the hope of being able to start the next chemo cycle on Friday. We will be admitted to the ward again for three nights due to the reaction she had last time she started this drug. She didn't sleep for 72 hours so we are praying and hoping that she doesn't have the same reaction again.

    We are able to go back home to Wellington for a couple of weeks on this next cycle so we are eager for it to start so we can be home for a bit and together again as a family in one location.

    The Slaughters xx

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  • Third chemo cycle

      24 June 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Layla has remained as an outpatient in Christchurch on her third chemo cycle so far with the odd overnight stay in hospital under observation due to nausea from the treatment. She is coping well this time which is such a relief!

    We are so blessed to be at Ronald McDonald house, the team here are amazing and the room is much more comfortable than being in hospital.

    Currently we are waiting for Laylas blood counts to recover so that she can continue the last block of chemo for this cycle. She has done remarkably well on this cycle but the team here in Christchurch have wanted her close by in case she got very unwell like last time.

    Jordan and Bailey continue to travel back and forth between Wellington and Christchurch. They try to come every second weekend due to the cost of flights.

    We are so grateful for the donations that make it possible to pay for some of the flights as it is so expensive to fly down so frequently.

    The Slaughters xx

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    • 24/06/2025 by Emma Fossey

      Think of you guys very often, glad too see wee Layla is doing well now xxx

  • Second chemo cycle

      24 June 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Layla started her second chemo cycle called Blinatumomab at the end of April, and whilst the original plans were to get us home to Wellington on this cycle that sadly was not the case as she was still recovering from being so severely ill.

    Her gut had shut down and she had to be put on IV nutrition until she was able to get back to breastfeeding again. An MRI also showed that she had severe inflammation of all the muscles in her body and after loosing all the excess fluid she was like a newborn baby again. With loosing so much muscle mass being bedridden meant quite a bit of physio to get back to 'normal'.

    Our amazing little girl continued to surprise the doctors with her progress and we became outpatients for the last week of the blin cycle and were able to stay at Ronald McDonald house again.

    The Slaughters xx

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  • Chemo side effects

      24 June 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    Once we got back to Christchurch from Starship, we faced more challenges from the side effects from the chemo in the induction cycle.

    We battled fluid overload at Starship which was not fully resolved when we returned and Layla ended up in highcare on a morphine pump and lots of blood pressure medication.

    She started going downhill again quickly and we were told that part of her liver that processes protein (veno-occlusive disease) had stopped working and she needed to be on another medication for it. Her body was going into fluid overload again and causing her blood pressure to skyrocket to the point where she had to be moved back to the ICU again.

    Easter weekend was breaking point when she was at her worst and a new diaretic was added to help drain the fluid so as to avoid having to drain it with a needle instead.

    By Easter Tuesday she had turned a corner and was looking much better.

    The highcare and ICU teams were amazing and helped so much giving me breaks when possible to catch up on sleep.

    Jordan and Bailey returned to Wellington after Anzac weekend and are having to fly back on weekends to visit.

    Thank you for all the prayers, love and support people have sent out way during this whole process.

    The Slaughters xx

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  • 28th March - Laylas trip to starship

      24 June 2025
    Posted by: Ashleigh & Jordan Slaughter
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    I have been slow to update so I thought I would send through some updates from our journey so far:

    On the 27th March Layla spiked a fever and we ended up back in hospital after being outpatients for a week. She then very suddenly went into septic shock and as parents we faced the worst day of our lives since the diagnosis, having to watch our baby girl be resuscitated in front of us. Once she was stable she was taken to theatre and kept intubated and sedated in the ICU. We were told she was in critical condition and the PICU team from Starship was called to come collect us. Layla and Ash arrived at Starship on Friday 28th March early in the morning.

    After four days they extubated Layla and a day later moved her to the oncology ward. After a challenging two weeks at Starship we were transferred back down to Christchurch to continue treatment here.

    We are so grateful to the teams of doctors and nurses in both locations for looking after our precious little girl.

    The Slaughters xx

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