When Ciara spent 2007 in hospital, she discovered ITV’s ‘Primeval’.  Being big into dinosaurs it proved a great hit.  Today Ciara was up a Crumlin for a dermatology appointment and Finn and I took a trip up to Phoenix Park to stretch our legs.  There was a film shoot going on and being ever nosey [...]

The first time I was really aware of Daffodil Day in Ireland was a number of days after finding out my daughter had cancer. I bought my first daffodil from the very depressing shopping centre on Crumlin Road, shortly before having to change a tyre in the rain, then get back to the hospital where [...]

One of the lesser-known side effects of Chemotherapy is permanent hearing loss. It’s rare enough, not everyone has it, but once the damage is done there’s no going back. Ciara’s hearing shouldn’t get any worse, but she does have check ups every six months to make sure her hearing aid is still OK for her. [...]

Ciara has just finished her first week at proper school – and has had a thoroughly good time by all accounts. To mark this occasion, and to recognise that Ciara not longer users a bed pan, and will soon NOT be bald, I’ve decided to migrate Bald Kids and Bed Pans into a generic Stuff [...]

Today marked a day that on too many times we thought we’d never see. Ciara put on a new uniform and went to school for the first time. We’re all so proud of her, the brave little girl has been through so much yet she’s managed to put it all behind her and bravely step [...]

As mentioned in the last post, last Friday was The Bubblegum Club’s annual Garden Party at Durrow Castle. This is an event put on for kids in Ireland who’ve had a bit of a shitty time of it recently, and there were a good couple of hundred kids going. We hadn’t told Ciara anything special [...]

It’s been eighteen months since Ciara went to any kind of school. When she was 3, she started going to Athy’s Montessori. One of the last days she attended was way back in December 2006, when she performed at the Christmas show. Little did we know that she was riddled with Cancer and must have [...]

Sorry it’s been so long since the last post, the mundanaties of getting on with life rarely warrant a post. Here’s a catchup though. Ciara’s going from strength to strength and has tonnes of energy, more than her poor mum and dad can cope with. Her hair is slowly beginning to grow back, but at [...]

In both China and Myanmar (Burma), entire villages and towns have been reduced to rubble, with thousands dead, wounded and homeless. With just one text message, you can help. In Ireland, text ‘AID’ to 57500 to send an automatic donation of €2.50 to charities on the front line. All proceeds to Irish Red Cross, Oxfam [...]