In celebration of her final 18th round of chemo, a brave 12-year-old girl was given a guard of honor march along the halls of the hospital.
Her name is Alice Rossington and she kicked off her remission by reading a poem and ringing the celebratory hospital bell. The hospital staff had been with her from the beginning and can now call Alice a friend. They surrounded their new friend and gave her a standing ovation as she did the traditional guard of honor.
Alice had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer last year called osteosarcoma. Though it’s rare, this is the most common type of cancer that develops in the bones, especially in children and is more prominent in boys than girls. To learn more, click here.
In Alice’s case, the odds weren’t with her as she had to get her fibula bone removed from her leg and learn how to walk all over again during intense physiotherapy sessions.
Her father, Nick Rossington, 52, remembers the time when she first started fretting about a pain in her leg. It was something they disregarded as simply growing pains, so when they learned of the actual osteosarcoma diagnosis, they were stunned. From that moment on, Alice took every hardship one day at a time and knew that she had to power through it.
“Her strength of character has been amazing and every single member of staff, from the nurses to the chefs, have been with us every step of the way,” said Nick.
The arduous treatment process included 18 rounds of chemotherapy extended over a 26 week period in Addenbrooke hospital in Cambridge.
The first few weeks of chemo were rough, with excruciating pain in her legs and vomiting. Still, she overcame the darkness with her sheer strength of character.
Her family filmed the guard of honor ceremony and her triumphant bell ringing on camera. Now the video has garnered 47,000 views on the hospital’s Facebook page.
Back in action and back in school, Alice hopes to pick up her dancing right where she left off.
Carol Chenery, a senior staff nurse at the hospital spoke of Alice’s guard of honor.
“The bell really helps give a focus for the children that have to go through these really difficult treatments.”
