When Ruby-Rose Milton was struck down with a cold in the middle of winter and her face began to swell it was thought the little girl was in the throes of a simple seasonal lurgy.
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Even when the nose bleeds began there was little concern. Back then, in late June, nothing seemed sinister or untoward.
“We had some tests done and they revealed Ruby-rose’s haemoglobin levels were a little low but nothing to worry about,” Ruby-Rose’s mother Renea Macpherson said.
But then the swelling increased and one night Ruby-Rose, 3, struggled to breathe.
“We thought it was asthma and then it looked like Ruby-Rose had conjunctivitis so once again we didn’t think there was a whole lot to worry about,” Renea, of Stanford Merthyr, said.
“But, for me, alarm bells were ringing and I just knew something significantly bad was wrong.”
One scan and one MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) later, Renea, 36, was thrown into a world of horror.
“Within a week of the scans Ruby-Rose was diagnosed with stage four cancer and it’s now in her face and has spread to her liver and her bone marrow,” Renea said.
“It turns out the tumour was so big it was blocking the air passages in her face.”
Bald from unimaginable amounts of chemotherapy and jaundice from liver cancer, Ruby-Rose is now on a clinical trial in a final attempt to save her life from the aggressive childhood cancer known as neuroblastoma.
“We’re lucky enough to be on this clinical trial that is also taking place in Germany and the United Kingdom,” Renea said.
“But this is our best hope so that’s what we’re doing.”
However, Ruby-Rose’s prognosis lies at a dismal 30 per cent.
Neuroblastoma almost exclusively strikes infants and children and is the third most common type of childhood cancer after leukaemia and brain tumours.
It remains the leading single cause of cancer deaths in children under five years.
Sadly, there has not been a major change in the survival rate during the past decade.
Ruby-Rose also carries a visible tumour at the back as a result of the accompanying condition known as neurofibrosis.
“Ruby-Rose has already been through so much,” Renea said.
“She has endured 80 days of chemotherapy where she went in 15 kilograms and came out weighing nine. We thought we were going to lose her and it was a really, really tough time.”
Adding insurmountable stress to Renea’s life is the fact she must sell the family home and re-home their much-loved pet to move closer to the John Hunter Hospital so Ruby-Rose can embark on the next stage of her gruelling treatment plan.
“This is all so devastating and the ward Ruby-Rose is on is very hard to be a part of,” Renea said.
“I’ve befriended other parents whose children have passed away and that’s really hard, especially when the child has the same diagnosis as Ruby-Rose.
“It’s very hard to be surrounded by all the death. You see other people’s children being diagnosed and you see parents collapse after the news.
“It’s just so confronting and emotional.”
Joining Ruby-Rose in her fight for survival are siblings Chloe, 16, twins Reece and Bailey, 15 and Isabella, 4.
“This has taken a huge toll, especially on the older three children, but we just have to keep moving on,” Renea said.
“Our best case scenario is that Ruby-Rose will progress well with the treatment plan that will end in October next year.
“But Ruby-Rose is not a baby who will get better tomorrow, and I have five children, so I have to make sure everyone is taken care of in the best way I can.
“People say I’m strong but honestly I have no other choice. I have to do this.
“Ruby-Rose’s cancer is the worst it can be.
“And that’s why we’re on this trial, this is it for Ruby-Rose. This is all we’ve got.”
The month before Ruby was diagnosed with cancer her family bought a boxer puppy they named Sasha.
Unfortunately, Sasha cannot make the move to Newcastle with the family and needs a new home. For more information phone Renea Macpherson on 0437 198 749.