A father and young daughter smile in a tunnel.

“Sienna is a character! She is bolshy, likes being on stage, and is more than happy to have all the attention on her. She enjoys ballet and musical theatre classes and was able to continue with these throughout her treatment, which was great. She loves swimming and anything Disney!

Around three months prior to Sienna’s diagnosis, in February 2024, we started to notice symptoms. She wanted to sit in the buggy a lot and at first, we weren’t sure if it was because we had just had another baby and she was playing up a bit. Her energy levels started to become extremely low, so we took her to the GP who thought she was anaemic, so they did a blood test and prescribed her iron tablets.

Not long after this, Sienna started limping when she was walking. I took her to the GP who said to take her straight to A&E and it spiralled from there. We were about to be discharged from A&E at St Peter’s, our local hospital, when they decided to do her bloods and that was when things went from bad to worse. I was taken into a room and told Sienna had leukaemia. I was absolutely devastated but I wanted to try and hold things together, for Sienna. I then had to break the news to Sienna’s mum, who was at home with our young baby.

While we were at St Peter’s Hospital, we stayed in a beautiful room, decorated by Momentum – this was the first time I had heard of the charity. We stayed at St Peter’s until we were transferred to St George’s to have Sienna’s port fitted. Once it was in place an intense 28-day period of chemotherapy commenced and we were transferred to The Royal Marsden.

Being at the Marsden was great because we got to meet other families who were slightly ahead of us in their treatment journey so we could ask questions and they would often reassure us. For much of this period, it was just me and Sienna, as my partner, Alice, was breastfeeding our young son, and then she got a cold so couldn’t visit the hospital in case she passed anything on. It often felt like Covid times again, with all the isolating.

I first met a Family Support Worker from Momentum when we were at St. George’s. I remember feeling a bit confused about their role at first, but once things were less chaotic, we met up with Sam, who became our Family Support Worker, and she talked through the different ways Momentum could support us.

Megan, a music therapist who works with Momentum has done quizzes and other fun things in the hospital with Sienna, which she loved.

During the next phase of her treatment, Sienna picked up temperatures and infections which meant lots of hospital stays. At one point we spent six weeks in hospital as Sienna had to have surgery to realign her port as it was affecting her heart rate. Whenever we were at St Peter’s, the nurses would be on hand to look after our son, Zac, so my partner and I could spend as much time as possible with Sienna. Overall, Sienna remained quite well and has been so resilient throughout everything.

During one of our stays at the Marsden, they did a Hawaiian themed party with karaoke, and Sienna was straight up there, singing Katy Perry’s Roar! Another we were there, some of the youth team from Sutton United FC visited the children’s ward. When they saw Sienna, they asked her if there was anything she would like them to do, and she told them she would like them to sing Let it Go from Frozen! They obliged and gave it a go – it was a very funny and lovely moment.

During the maintenance phase of Sienna’s treatment, we were able to administer the chemo at home which meant our life was able to regain some normality. Every few weeks we would have to go to St Peter’s for chemo and steroids and every 12 weeks we would have appointments at the Marsden.

During Sienna’s treatment, we have had a few visits to Momentum’s lodge at Shorefield Country Park in the New Forest. Our first trip there was particularly special as it was the first thing we had been able to plan since Sienna’s diagnosis, and having something to look forward to made an enormous difference. It was incredibly quiet which was perfect as we didn’t have to worry about Sienna being around too many people. There was a disco, arcades, and lots of entertainment. There is even a robot called Bella at one of the restaurants that delivers food to your table – Sienna absolutely loved it!

We have been on Momentum’s boat which we all really enjoyed, especially the grandparents. My partner Alice has had counselling organised by Momentum and Sam regularly checks in to see how we are all doing – Sam has also been out for walks and coffees with Alice. Sam has been great at advising us on different things and referring us to other organisations too.

We have been very lucky that Momentum Family Support Workers have been at every hospital Sienna has received treatment at. She would always enjoy playing Barbies at St Peter’s on a Tuesday with them.

We have had a Doorstep Santa visit, which Sienna still talks about now! Santa came with his elves on his motorbike and had given real consideration to the gifts for Sienna and her brother Zac. Both the children receive chocolate advent calendars every year from Momentum – they always involve siblings in everything. In fact, they support the whole family – my in-laws recently went to an event for grandparents at Painshill Park.

Sienna started Reception at school as normal last year, and before that she was still able to do most of her pre-school year.

The school Sienna goes to have been really accommodating. They met with us before she started and gave us time to talk through what was needed to keep her well. They bought a new thermometer for the classroom so they could monitor the temperature, and they keep an eye on her to make sure she is drinking plenty of fluids, which has been one of our biggest challenges. The school created a chart that they would complete as Sienna drank water throughout the day, and her classmates would cheer her on to drink more.

Sienna’s port is called Patrick, and she did a show and tell in class to tell her friends all about it.

Sienna has very recently completed treatment, and we are now waiting for her port to come out. Her hair has grown back which is great, but when she didn’t have any hair, it was almost like a safety net, and people knew she was poorly and that they had to be careful around her.

We have been through a lot as a family and staying in regular contact with other parents who have unwell children is something that has really helped me to mentally deal with things. Sienna has been so positive throughout everything, she has shown that cancer doesn’t mean you are lying in a bed not being able to do anything at all. That has given me strength, and really, she has led us through everything.

My advice for other parents in similar situations – try not to Google anything. If you have a question, always check your medical notes or call the hospital. The team at the hospital are always more than happy to explain their thought processes, or take another look, and it can help to settle your own nerves. Trust yourselves as parents, nobody knows your child as well as you do. It has also helped to be able to recognise that there is an end in sight. 

We hope to arrange for Sienna to ring the bell at St Peter’s very soon, and this will be followed by a special bell ringing party with a bouncy castle and some fundraising for Move for Momentum during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September.”

Story taken July 2026.