Sharelle Williams

My daughter sharelle was so inspirational and courageous, from aged 3 sharelle become very poorly and our world changed forever 💔 sharelle was diagnosed within hours of a emergency admission to hospital with acute lymphoblastic leukemia her only symptom was a nose bleed that wouldn't stop, at just 3 years old sharelle started treatment straight away and after a 2 year's we had the best news ever remission words we longed to hear after covid lockdwon isolation and the fear of cancer taking our beautiful little girl the worst was over,,,then sadly 2 year's later our hearts we're broken sharelle become very poorly with a high fever 40.1 a rash called purpura and petechiae rash from head to toe and shorntess of breath extreme tiredness bruising and a cough painful bones so we left for the GP surgery and a urgent referral to a&e ,we feared relapse what we was told was far worst,,our little girl had secondary cancer, Acute myeloid leukemia flt3itd a aggressive form of AML sharelle is now 7 and facing the biggest battle again ,this is unfair her heart is broken from a normal life to oncology life children shouldn't suffer ,,sharelle had to have a double lumen hickman line different from her first wiggly a port a NG tube this was a first experience and one sharelle was very scared and fearful off often sharelle would Need sedation or to be have a nap at theatre for new NG tube to be placed this was vital for medaction and fluids and feeds as sharelles appite was very decreased and her weight was under,sharelle started chemotherapy this time round they was much more harsher and stronger due to the aggressive form of cancer she had ,the side effects we're horrendous I can not put into words mucositis mouth uclers and sores serve sickness and muscle weakness every day and seizures due to toxicity of chemotherapy,,but these was the option for hope and cure then we discussed the only possible cure was a bone marrow transplant,,this was a very daunting scary time sharelles sibling her older sister shantia came back a match and with much support and help we made a desscion to go ahead and have a bone marrow transplant,,sharelle has spent 5 years of her life and treatment and aftercare at Cardiff noahs ark rainbow ward and Morriston hospital ward M and pau these places aren't scary they're a home from home and sharelle formed many friendships and had a lot of love and sass for the nurses and doctors and her poons nurse Angela, even had nicknames for the team sharelle was a very bubbly loud happy full of life diva moments you could always hear sharelle before you seen her ,so much care and love to give and a occasional eye roll ,these wards were her safe space all she knew and us as a family we had to prepare for a new big adventure to Sheffield children's hospital this was the transplant centre,,nervous and overwhelmed but soon as we arrived sharelle instantly loved ward 6 felt at home and I felt ok too the ladies at pact we're very supportive and the whole team Dr's and nurses play team ward.6 was our new home for a long time sharelle begun conditioning chemotherapy this is to flush out the bone marrow ready for stem cells this was very tough and had a huge impact on sharelle and me ,,she became very poorly and for many weeks did not leave her bed the side effects were like nothing I have ever seen in our journey and the support we received was phenomenal outstanding very good we was 5 hours from home on our own the team supported us through all..sharelle went through hell and back transplant was not easy and she delvopled life long lasting side effects and one of those was graft vs host disease sharelle looked in the mirror one day and said mum when will I be me again I hate myself I am ugly that broke my heart to hear and see my once so happy wild child say those words and to be feeling those emotions sharelle suffered horrendous effects and she needed ECP treatment for the graft vs host disease this was long but worth it in October we returned to Wales and travelled every fortnight to Sheffield for ecp sharelle was recovering from transplant and the complications,,this journey was long we had a amazing Halloween and Christmas home with family and friends sharelle had missed her siblings dad and family so much after 6months away,,sharelle delvopled adrenaline insufficiency and had crisis days this was very serious ,,we made the most of Christmas sharelles favourite season had a beautiful best Christmas ever ,,then sadly into the new year I noticed sharelle was out of breath tired and losing weight and not herself,,after a check up and regular bloods that are done weekly post transplant towards the End of January we had the devastating news sharelles AML flt3itd has returned and is very aggressive and unstoppable our options we're very limited all this just 1 week before our little girl's eight birthday how do we go from it's ok to our daughter is dying no words any parent wants to hear this was devastating my heart broke into a million peaces why our daughter it's not fair,,sharelle was very poorly and the cancer was aggressively spreading time was precious sharelles team in Cardiff rainbow ward we're very supportive with us all the way we celebrated sharelles eight birthday on the ward and every wish was made possible and came true thanks to LATCH dreams and wishes the doctors and nurses play team and Jade we transformed the play room and sharelles room this was a special moment and one we will treasure forever, after sharelles birthday we discussed palliative care this was hard we choose to keep rainbow ward as our happy place and left for ty hafan and beautiful hospice so peaceful and therapeutic after some short time at ty hafan we choose home for palliative care this was sharelles final wish to be home a place we spent many years from sharelle become very unwell and it was torture to see her unable to move and so poorly sharelle suffered a active bleed and the cancer had spread to her brain ,,sharelles end of life care was gentle delicate and sensitive her team were with us day and night beside us and sharelle sharelle left for heaven very peaceful and pain-free towards the end sharelle gasped her last breaths and reached out for us all she knew we was beside her,sharelle was and always will be the most remarkable inspirational courageous warrior so brave to brave for this world you fought so hard and battled so long you are now free and no more pain the heartache of losing a child is a pain I can't explain greif is a powerful journey but be kind to yourself and remember support is there sharelle passed away peacefully at home just 3 weeks after terminal diagnosis we as family miss you every day and will keep your legacy and name alive until we meet again rest in paradise our warrior angel sharelle Gilley September is a time for us to share our children's storys and journey it's not a easy one go gold for the children they deserve to recognised and remembered child hood cancer awareness month September for sharelle and every child and family effected we need a change for cure and less harsh treatments we would like to give thanks as a family to latch morgans army Joseph's smile Jacob crane foundation Meg mai foundation Morriston hospital Cardiff noah's ark rainbow ward and Sheffield children's hospital ward 6 and pact house Sheffield your support means the world to us and we can not thank you enough for looking after our beautiful angel daughter sharelle.