Adeline's Story

"Adeline was born on the 19th July 2020 after 5 years of fertility treatment, and our first cycle of IVF. Our world was complete, we could finally enjoy the family life that we had dreamed of as a couple for many years. Adeline was so perfect in every way. We were so grateful and so in love with her. My husband had secured a job in Dubai during our years of treatment, so in September 2020 Adeline and I flew over to Dubai to see if we liked the lifestyle with an aim of moving there permanently. Our world was turned upside down, on the 1st November 2020 when after only 2 days of grogginess, 2 bouts of vomiting and a raised fontanelle we decided to take Adeline to the nearest A&E thinking perhaps she had a tummy bug and that we’d be home before we knew it… this was not the case. The following morning a scan showed a large mass on her brain, we were so naïve to the world of Cancer at this point, we assumed it would be removed and life would go on. How wrong we were. After surgery Adeline’s tumour was sent off for testing and the results we received was that Adeline, at only 3 months old had a rare but highly aggressive Brain Tumour called ‘WHO Grade 3 Supratentorial Ependymoma RELA Fusion Positive’ Life as we had come to know it had changed. After Adeline had recovered from her operation (she had had two more since, 1 to place a port and another to place a shunt) we flew back to England in January 2021 and had immediate admission into Bristol Children’s Hospital. Between January 2021 and February 2022 Adeline had 3 further major brain surgeries, and had multiple cycles of various different chemotherapies. Her last surgery in November 2021 had finally removed the full tumour and the doctors decided to put her onto Intrathecal chemotherapy (injected straight into the brain) every day for 1 week on a monthly basis. They were confident this would control the cancer and we would be able to reach 2 and half years old at which point they could consider radiation. In February 2022 an MRI revealed that the cancer had returned and spread to various places in her brain, the doctors called it quits and were prepared to do no more despite our begging and pleading. We cared for Adeline at home until she took her last breath in bed with my husband & I at 03:05AM on the 05th May 2022 aged 21 months. Adeline was such a beautiful soul who will forever and ever be loved and missed. She flew through every treatment with a smile on her face. Always watching TV and dancing. Giving us the strength to carry on. You really wouldn’t have known the battles she was facing, she was a true warrior. My husband and I still struggle every minute of every day without Adeline and for a while I didn’t want to leave the house. But in November of 2022 I suddenly felt the need to get away from it all, and that is when I noticed BSF advertising a weekend away. It was really difficult going away for the first time, it highlights even more that we didn’t have Adeline with us to enjoy the facilities the site had to offer. But for us as a couple, it was nice to get away from everything and everyone and just take time for the two of us. Being able to cook yummy meals in the Caravan and then walking to the venue for a couple of drinks or acting like kids in the arcade did us a world of good. We also met Ben’s mum and dad whilst on the park, they are an amazing couple who gave me a shoulder to cry on and someone to relate to. Thank you for allowing us this opportunity, we really hope we can visit again during the warmer weather, and we also now have a dog to bring! (On your recommendation 😊)"