Maeve goes into remission

19 November 2008

At Easter, James and Meredith Wilson had their lives turned upside down when their youngest daughter Maeve was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Eight months on, the one-year-old is in remission. The Hill Top family are seeing their youngest child becoming her old self, running around with her older siblings, James, 4, and Emeshae, 2.

Mrs Wilson said the first year of illness saw the highest risk of relapse.

“It is nearly two months on (from chemotherapy) and her blood tests are looking good so that’s all we can go off,” she said.

“Maeve has her appetite back and she is running around like someone her own age, babbling away. It is reassuring.”

Maeve will have to have monthly blood tests in Sydney to make sure that her blood levels are returning to normal, but apart from that, the family are settling back into the day-to-day routine.

Through the uncertainty of their daughter’s illness they were buoyed by the compassion of the Southern Highlands community.

Mrs Wilson said it was definitely a challenging time, but the kindness of people in the Highlands helped them through.

“We got to see so much generosity and we met so many wonderful people,” she said.

“I think sometimes you have to go through adversity to find those people.

“The Berrima District Credit Union and the community raised ridiculous amounts of money with the music day they had and the Shave for Maeve,” Mrs Wilson said.

“Because we didn’t have an income, it meant that we were able to be in Sydney with Maeve and not have to worry about bills and paying the mortgage.”

The Wilsons said people would hand them 20 dollar notes, give them cards and cook them meals.

Mrs Wilson said they were so grateful as it allowed them to focus on Maeve and their family.

“We didn’t have to worry about the physical side of things."

Article by Leah O'Brien. Courtesy of Southern Highland News.