BE BRAVE - BE STRONG - BE YOU
It is the most devastating news you could ever hear, "YOUR CHILD HAS A BRAIN TUMOUR", something as parents we thought we would never ever hear or have to deal with as parent.... but unfortunately, we did, not so well sometimes, but throughout this devastating journey we were on, we learned so much.... and it has led us to where we are today. Our son Todd, should bravery and determination I thought was never possible, but he gave us the all the strength we needed, and for that we are now in the position to be able to help other children and young people with Cancer in a very unique way. "Bandanas for the Brave" was inspired by our brave son and hero Todd, who was diagnosed on Christmas Eve 2008 with what we thought was an epidermoid cyst on the brain, so he was put a watch and wait protocol, so every 3 months he got an MRI but buy November 2009 the mass was still growing, and our neurosurgeon said we will need to do a biopsy, and because Todd’s mass was on the Thalamus, an area deep deep in the Brain, that it would be a life threatening procedure, but one that needed to be taken, so then after what seemed like an eternity, out son came back to us drowsy but had got through this procedure and was alive.... but now the waiting began. Ten days later in December we got the news we dreaded ... Todd did in fact have a Brain Tumour and we would be referred to the oncology team. So, in January he got in his central line in to prepare for a long and difficult treatment plan. and seven days later the dreaded 85 weeks of chemotherapy started and Todd who was just 8 began the hardest fight ever, the road was full of pain and sickness, but he always looked forward he had a really tough time throughout his treatment, but it was especially hard for him when he lost his hair due to his chemotherapy, and below is WHY....
When Todd started treatment, one of the things we were told was that approx. week 3/4 of his treatment, that his hair would begin to fall out... but fortunately for Todd it actually stayed, thin as it was, it was still there, but 52 weeks into his treatment Todd had an anaphylactic shock....it came on because of the length of time he was on his chemotherapy drugs, that one day his body just said no more.... that was one of the most frightening things I watched and feeling so helpless as the doctor’s rush to his aid, after that the oncologist decided he couldn't have the cocktail of drugs again, so he had to then change treatment. Todd then became an inpatient for his chemo which was very intense, and it was miserable for him, and to make matters worse the inevitable happened a few weeks later.... Todd lost all his hair, and that’s when things changed for him...
Todd was absolutely devastated, and he hid away, he never ever let anyone see him and he hid when the doorbell rang, he wouldn't even come to clinic without hiding in the toilets in case anyone saw him, it was heart breaking watching him struggle with losing his hair, it was one of the hardest and most emotional times that I seen him throughout his 85 weeks of treatment. (When children lose their hair, it’s such a quick process and I think that it is a hard thing for the whole family to deal with, one day they have a full head of hair the next 24/48 hours and it was almost gone, we were so not prepared for this at all in any way) …. So as Todd struggled with his hair loss (he tried the usual hats and even got a wig but nothing helped him with the struggle) until we came across an amazing bandana in the local sports shop, we brought it home for Todd and when he put it on it really was like a turning point for him, you would not have believed it unless you seen his wee face, the bandana not only looked cool, but the material was light and stretchy and most importantly seamless so he didn't have that painfulness he had when he put on his head. From that day on Todd was a lot less frustrated because he was most of all he was comfortable and cool, he even started to go to hospital without a fight, as the nurses commented on his cool bandanas, Todd’s confidence grew every day, it really was a light-switch moment, it changed the person he was, to the person he is today. I can honestly say I would never have believed that something so small could make such a huge difference......
As Todd was going through treatment, we threw ourselves into fundraising for local children cancer charities but in the back of my mind I always wanted to do something to help our brave kids directly, but just didn't know in what way, that was until we sat down and spoke to Todd and asked him what the hardest part of his journey was, his answer was, it wasn't the pain, or the sickness or even the hospital stays.... in fact, it was losing his hair.... so, there it was ......the route we wanted to take for our new charity. Our aim for our new charity is that we are wanting to do is to prepare the families as much as possible, educate them about hair loss and by having a FREE bandana at the ready, (as you will find out that it’s not the first thing on your mind when going through this journey), so we make a difference in these children s journey, hopefully in the way it did to Todd’s. We have given thousands of bandanas to amazingly brave children and young adults, throughout UK & Ireland, and we know that we have already made a big impact in these children and young people’s lives, have a look at the photos and the reviews from the kids and parents, they have positive comments and beautiful confident SMILES.... and at Bandanas For The Brave, that all we want to hear. Check out our website www.bandanasforthebrave.com and look at all the sizes, designs and wonderful colours we have in stock.
