Determined Darcie’s journey

Determined Darcie’s journey I have created this page to allow people to follow Darcies battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

There’s nothing quite as humbling as coming home after a hospital stay — back to your own bed, your own sofa, your own h...
16/08/2026

There’s nothing quite as humbling as coming home after a hospital stay — back to your own bed, your own sofa, your own home comforts. It feels like such a relief, and yet, if I’m honest, coming home also brings feelings that I always seem to forget. 💔

When you’re in hospital, you exist in this strange little world of your own. You’re surrounded by illness, treatment and cancer. Everyone understands without needing an explanation. There’s a silent understanding between parents who are living the same reality, and somehow, despite everything, the hospital becomes a place of safety.

Then you come home.

And suddenly you’re expected to slot back into normal life. To carry on. To do the ordinary things. But the truth is, it’s hard to just switch back to normal when your life isn’t normal anymore.

You’re reminded that your world no longer fits neatly alongside everyone else’s. That outside of the hospital, people are carrying on with lives that haven’t been completely turned upside down by cancer. And, strangely, being out of hospital can sometimes feel less safe than being inside it.

For Darcie, those first 24–48 hours are always hard. She becomes clingy, frustrated, overwhelmed with… well, everyone! She has to readjust, remember how to function in the real world again, and process everything she’s been through. And it takes its toll on all of us.

I always forget just how difficult that transition can be.

So today, we’ve simply tried our best. We’ve given ourselves grace to feel whatever we needed to feel, without expecting everything to suddenly be okay just because we’re home.

We took a walk in the sunshine. ☀️
We treated the children to a pub meal. 🍽️
We did some of those small, ordinary things that we once would have taken completely for granted.

Because sometimes it’s the smallest pieces of normality that remind you that a life outside of cancer still exists.

It might look different now. It might take a little longer to find our feet again. And maybe normal will never mean what it once did.

But we’re home. We’re together. And today, that’s enough. 🧡🎗️🧡

16/08/2026

Can anyone help this wonderful charity?? Do you work for or bank with Yorkshire Building Society? You could make a huge difference to this charity! xx

15/08/2026

Darcie’s high-dose methotrexate hospital stay is certainly not a quick in-and-out! 💗

Each cycle involves 4–5 days of treatment, starting with pre-chemo hyperhydration, a lumbar puncture, the chemo infusion, more hyperhydration afterwards, followed by a rescue drug and methotrexate levels checked every 12 hours.

The goal is to get those levels down to a safe point — the moment they reach that magic number, she is officially classed as “rescued” and we can finally head home! 🥳

Yesterday, we were SO close. Her levels were looking really promising and we were pretty certain she was going to rescue earlier than she normally does.

But, in true Darcie style… she threw us a curveball! 😂🙈

Instead of heading home as hoped, we got another unexpected 12 hours in hospital.

Then, at midnight, the results finally came back…

RESCUED!🎉🎉🎉

And just like that, we had the news we had been waiting for — WE CAN GO HOME! 🏡💗

After another gruelling round of chemo, endless fluids, sleepless nights, blood tests, lumbar punctures, medication and more beeping machines than I care to count, she has done it once again.

So today is all about getting home, getting some fresh air and enjoying the garden — and, of course, threading a vomit bowl full of beads of courage! 😂💪🏼💗

Because if there’s one thing Darcie knows how to do, it’s turn even the strangest parts of this journey into something positive.

Happy weekend, guys! 🥰
Here’s to being rescued, home and making memories in the garden! 🌸🏡✨

13/08/2026

Prior to Darcie getting sick, I don’t think I ever truly appreciated the value of play, creativity and activities within a hospital. When you’re healthy, you take these things for granted. But when your child spends so much of their life in hospital, often for long periods of time, these little moments become so incredibly important.🧡

Today was another perfect example. We got to meet the amazing , who spent time with Darcie creating her own plasticine figures, explaining how animation works and showing her how to bring her ideas to life. 🎬✨

For a 6-year-old, I think she has done an absolutely amazing job — from coming up with her ideas, creating the characters and then bringing it all together into her very own animation! 🥹🧡

These activities might seem like something small, but to children like Darcie, they are anything but. They give them something to look forward to, something to focus on, a chance to be creative, to learn, to laugh and most importantly, to simply be a child.

Thank you to for investing in activities like Let’s Animate and for recognising that children living through cancer and long hospital stays need more than just medical treatment.

They need opportunities to play.
They need opportunities to smile.
They need opportunities to create.
They need reminders that their illness does not define them. 🎗️

Today, for a little while, Darcie wasn’t a patient having treatment… she was just a 6-year-old making animations and having fun. And that is worth so much. 🥰🎨🎬

13/08/2026

Fantastic day yesterday with Rhythm Time! Darcie loves these sessions, it really helps brighten up hospital stays and puts a smile on her face!

Back from theatre, chemo up and getting this party started!! Back on the ward and already causing havoc!! 😂😂
12/08/2026

Back from theatre, chemo up and getting this party started!! Back on the ward and already causing havoc!! 😂😂

Nothing will ever prepare you for holding your child as they drift off to sleep and then waiting outside those theatre d...
12/08/2026

Nothing will ever prepare you for holding your child as they drift off to sleep and then waiting outside those theatre doors. 💔

No matter how many times you do it, as a parent your heart still races, your palms get sweaty, and every part of you aches as you hand over your entire world to people you have to blindly trust with the most precious thing you have. 🧡

The walk to theatre, the familiar beeping, the same corridor, the same place I sit and wait every single time… it all goes like clockwork. It’s regular. It’s known. It’s familiar.

And yet, nothing about this will ever feel normal. Nothing about this will ever feel okay.

I don’t think there will ever come a day where watching your child disappear through those doors doesn’t feel like the longest walk of your life.

But luckily, we have complete faith in Darcie’s incredible care team. I truly believe they look after my baby as though she were their own. And that means more to us than I could ever put into words.

From the anaesthetists and doctors, to the ODPs, nurses and recovery staff — thank you. Thank you for your skill, your compassion, your kindness and the care you show our girl every single time.

While we sit outside those doors, you are the people holding our world in your hands.

Our precious, determined Darcie. 🎀🧡

We will never stop being terrified… but we will forever be grateful that she is surrounded by such an incredible team. 🧡
Thank you for looking after our baby 🥹🧡

Good morning, world! 🧡We’ve completed our first night in hospital for Darcie’s planned admission for her high-dose chemo...
12/08/2026

Good morning, world! 🧡

We’ve completed our first night in hospital for Darcie’s planned admission for her high-dose chemo. And let me tell you… ZERO sleep was had by all! 😂 Especially Mommy! 🙈

Darcie is currently catching up on some much-needed sleep this morning, while I’m already on my third coffee of the day! ☕😂 I always forget just how noisy, uncomfortable and exhausting hospital stays can be!

This morning we’re waiting to go to theatre for her lumbar puncture and chemo into her spinal fluid. I’m just so glad she’s sleeping her way through being NBM (nothing by mouth) because I’m not sure either of us would cope with the hunger complaints! 😂

Another big day ahead for our girl, but as always, she’s taking it all in her stride. 💪🏼🎀

One step, one treatment, one day at a time. 🧡

Come on, Darcie — you’ve got this, princess! 👑💕

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