Member of the Month July 2024
Ivy-rose peach
Our Member of the Month this month is Ivy-Rose Peach.
In October 2023, Ivy-Rose received a diagnosis of B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Given her status as a high-risk patient due to having Down Syndrome, she was transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital, where she remained for eight months.
Upon her diagnosis, Ivy-Rose began a rigorous chemotherapy regimen, which was divided into five phases. The first phase was an intense induction, followed by the second and third phases, which involved Blinatumomab treatment, a cutting-edge research therapy. The fourth phase was Delayed Intensification, and she is currently in the final phase, maintenance.
The past eight months have been incredibly challenging for Ivy-Rose as an inpatient. She has faced numerous infections, including RSV, Covid-19, Rhinovirus, and Parainfluenza. Additionally, she has experienced neutropenia, leading to isolation. Ivy-Rose endured high-temperature spikes, which resulted in septic shock and required admission to the High Dependency Unit (HDU). She also suffered from sickness and diarrhea, chemical burns from chemotherapy drugs across all treatment phases, and steroid-induced diabetes, which caused both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. Complications extended to her adrenal glands, which are currently not functioning correctly.
Since her diagnosis, Ivy-Rose has struggled with eating and drinking, necessitating the use of a nasogastric (NG) tube for nutrition, hydration, and medication administration. She underwent the insertion of four Hickman lines, as two broke during treatment and one malfunctioned during medication administration. Additionally, a Portacath was inserted but ultimately failed.
Despite these hardships, Ivy-Rose remained remarkably resilient.
"Ivy-Rose is just amazing and everyday she was always high fiveing the nurses and even asked through sounds (as she's non verbal) to get a high five, she was always smiling through everything she truly is a true warrior and fighter"
However, Ivy-Rose's journey has been far from easy. Even after reaching the maintenance phase she faced setbacks, being readmitted to the hospital for a 48-hour antibiotic course due to an infection and subsequently for 72 hours the following week for another infection and high temperature.
Since May 2023, Ivy-Rose has not had much of a respite. During a family holiday, she was urgently transported to the hospital due to a chest sepsis infection and aspiration pneumonia. These challenges have made the past 14 months incredibly tough for her. She managed to start school in September 2023, attending for one term. Now, she faces the process of readjusting and settling into school once more. Despite these difficulties, Ivy-Rose has something positive to look forward to: the prospect of meeting new friends and rejoining a school environment, which offers her a chance to return to a semblance of normalcy.
