Support us through Isaac's leukaemia treatment

We're heading into the cooler months and reflecting on what's been an exciting but also nerve-wracking last 2 to 3 months. Isaac's had an absolute blast at the beach this summer and is reluctant to let the cold keep him out of the water. He also enjoyed a few excellent weeks at kindergarten before the inevitable happened. He picked up something viral with some classic covid symptoms but had a negative PCR and several negative RATs results. No fever thankfully, so there was no need for us to get him to ED and up on the ward for monitoring. Marc and I also got sick via Isaac, and we both had some classic covid symptoms, but again all negative results. We continued to isolate as if we were positive as, by then, many children at the kindy were testing positive.

We made the decision to keep Isaac home from kindy while covid is surging through our community. While it was sad to cut his kindy experience short we're stoked with progress he's made with his communication and social skills. Kindy helped him a lot. Being with other children and adults in an environment as nurturing as Wairakei Kindergarten really hit the spot. Joining them was the best decision we could have made to fuel Isaac's development and adventurous spirit! Hopefully he will make a return in Term 2.

We are due back at Starship end of April for Isaac's next scheduled clinic appointment. This also involves chemo and a lumbar puncture/more chemo intrathecally in theatre the following morning. Last visit we were given the exciting news that Isaac's official last day of treatment will be 16 November this year, 2 years and 2 months from his diagnosis date. This is slightly less than the normal prescribed time for his type of leukamia treatment but we're not complaining.

Isaac will have spent half his life in treatment by that date. Just thinking about that chokes me up with sadness. However we're proud of our little lion cub. He's the strongest, happiest human we know. He knows how to seize every single day which will stand him in great stead for a wonderful life beyond leukaemia.

It's a little early but we're already starting to count down the days. By our reckoning Isaac will only need to visit Starship two or three more times to complete prescribed clinic and chemo appointments. He'll also need his port removed which requires surgery. Other than that, he'll continue daily chemo pills at home until 16 November when we can just stop. It feels surreal to say that.

We've enjoyed recent visits from family and friends, most notably from Isaac's godmother Kayla (my eldest niece). Just having her home from the UK was such a blessing for our entire family. Isaac has always had such a lovely bond with Kayla and it was so beautiful for them to connect again.

I often show people how well Isaac is doing and rarely show or discuss how tough this journey has been on us a family unit. We have good people and great organisations supporting us and now, with an end date in sight, we're so eager to plan and prepare for our son's exciting future.

But we miss our families. We don't have any immediate family here and that's been really hard to deal with throughout Isaac's treatment. We're still navigating our way through life with covid and all kinds of risk that come with Isaac's lowered immunity and voided vaccinations. Over the next couple of months we hope to take some calculated risks and spend precious time with family. Isaac will love it and kids just seem to know who's family even if they haven't seen them in a while.

Thank you to everyone continuing to check in on our little guy and supporting us behind the scenes. We love you all and hope to have more good news to share with you soon.