The Jodie Lou Foundation

General information

Upon until December 2013, I was your average
14 year old girl, healthy, bubbly and loved my
sports. It was then that I banged my leg on a
trampoline, my life changed and my journey began.

I had pain in my leg from the bang, and after visiting the doctors thought it was
‘just’ a sporting injury which they were treating with ibuprofen. Eight weeks later
the pain increased so we returned to the doctors, who referred me to a
physiotherapist. Upon seeing the physio I was given a variety of exercises to do and
was sent back to the doctors to be referred for an x-ray. During all this time the
severity of my pain had increased and was becoming unbearable, affecting my life
dramatically. I could no longer do many of the things I enjoyed, things that made me
the person I was.
Twelve weeks after my initial accident I received the results of the x-ray. It was then
we knew something wasn’t right but it wasn’t until a further two days of tests and scans
that my life changed completely and I was given the diagnosis of having bone cancer.
Since then I’ve been in hospital many times; First I had to go to the Royal Orthopedic
Hospital in Birmingham, to have a biopsy to determine the type of cancer I had.
This came back as ‘high grade osteosacroma’.
I was then admitted the following week into Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH) to have my Hickman line fitted to allow them to administer my chemotherapy which was due to start the following week.
My first chemo session wasn’t what I expected. I can’t really describe what I thought it would involve or how I thought it would affect me, but it was much worse than I had imagined. I was very ill throughout this week, my emotions were high, my appetite was nil and I vomited constantly.
Over the next two week I was re-admitted into BCH twice with infections, this left me feeling isolated, blocked out from the rest of the world.
I’m currently back in BCH having my second session of chemo, which needless to say I hope doesn’t affect me as bad as the first.
The next steps of my journey are thought to be a further five weeks of chemotherapy before an operation to remove the cancer from my leg – replacing the removed bones with metal and an artificial knee. This will then be followed by further sessions of chemo over
an 18-week period.
This will then be the point where I can begin to live my life again – the way I want to!

Hello all just thought I would update you on Jodie. We came into hospital on Friday 13th June with high temperature, this is after her 4th lot of chemotherapy, her white blood cells & neutrophils where very low so along with the 48 hour of antibiotics Jode as had blood transfusions & platelets. Her temperature spiked again so another 48 hours of more antibiotics to try & stablelize temperature while finding out the cause. She as been suffering from severe mucositis & as been put on another kind of antibiotics along with a drug to encourage the white blood cells & neutrophils to grow to help fight off these infections. All these have been through the IV line. The pain is unbearable at times so as been given a 'patient control analgesia' with a low dose of morphine & ketomin. She is eating & drinking well & we are hoping to recover quickly for the event on Saturday but we have been assured by the doctors that they will do all they can so she can attend even if it's just to shave my hair & get her back to hospital.
Jodie has had further 5th and 6th chemotherapy and I was all ok, getting used to the chemtherapy now and many of the side effects don't occur anymore. Still eating and drinking and recovered quickly. Was able to get out after my 6th lot of chemotherapy and Jodie stayed well for the 26th July as it was Joanne Millard and Keith Blakeway's wedding. Jodie was bridesmaid of them both and she made me very proud. Was a good day and it was great that Jodie was able to attend.

Wednesday 30th July, we all went to the Royal Orthapeidic hospital were we saw Dr Lee Jays. He then told us that the recent MRI scan showed that the tumor had grown, this was bad as it had grown round my blood vessels and it was inpossiable to remove without cancer still being there. The only option we were given was to have an amputation or a rotationplasy. Jodie made the decision to have an amputation as there want a good success rate of the rotationplasy.

The operation date was set for the 14th August and was attended 13th August. We all went and was ready to have it done. As Jodie was going down she was abit nervous but she tried to think positive. As she went down, her brother wasn't allowed to go to the room where she is put under anisthetic, so he gave her a hug and stayed at the top. We both went with her down to see her off. The operation was successful and she came round fine.