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From Pumpkin Carving to Blood Transfusions. The Reality of Childhood Cancer

dellanienash9
Oct 28
4 min read

27th October 2026 | Quick Maya Update ❤️🩸

Hi everyone! ❤️


We’ve been a little quiet lately, but not because there’s been nothing happening. Quite the opposite. For a little while, we’ve simply been living — embracing those precious pockets of ordinary life that we’ve learnt never to take for granted. 🥹

Between work commitments, Maya enjoying school, Monday choir, homework, half-term shopping for Lego, Hobbycraft goodies and bits from Dunelm, pumpkin carving, eating out and making memories with family, we’ve been soaking up the little things. The laughter, the silly moments, the cuddles and the feeling of being a family doing ordinary family things. 🎃❤️

And then, just like that, childhood cancer reminds us that normality can be incredibly fragile.

Tonight, we found ourselves back in hospital for an urgent blood transfusion. 💔🩸

Maya is currently in Cycle 2 of her oral chemotherapy, Etoposide, and today was Day 12. Unfortunately, her blood counts have dropped significantly, and her haemoglobin has fallen from 85 last week to just 65. Her chemotherapy has therefore been stopped again from this evening.

Heartbreakingly, this is almost exactly what happened during Cycle 1, when Maya’s haemoglobin also dropped after Day 12, requiring another blood transfusion.

Her latest blood results, compared with last week, are:

🩸 Haemoglobin: 65 (85)


🩸 Platelets: 46 (134)


🩸 Neutrophils: 0.5 (1.4)


🩸 White blood cells: 0.8 (2.0)


🩸 Potassium: 3.3 (3.4)


🩸 Magnesium: 0.64 (0.71)

As always, we take each day as it comes and trust Maya’s wonderful medical team to guide us through whatever comes next.

We were especially grateful that our lovely community nurse had taken a group and save blood sample alongside Maya’s routine blood tests this morning. Although we already know Maya’s blood group is A positive, this test is an essential safety check before each transfusion. Having it done early helped get the process moving when we needed it most. ❤️

Knowing hospital life, it may well be well midnight before we finally get through our front door! 🤞🏼

And this is the reality of childhood cancer. One minute, you’re carving pumpkins, choosing Lego sets and laughing and singing together. The next, you’re sitting in hospital, watching your child receive blood because her little body is struggling with the treatment needed to fight her cancer.

It’s the constant unpredictability. The plans that change without warning. The emotional whiplash of trying to enjoy the good days while knowing how quickly things can change.

But it’s also the reason we try so hard to make the most of every moment we’re given.

“Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect.”

We don’t know how many ordinary days we’ll get, so we’re learning to treasure them all. The school days, the choir sessions, the shopping trips, the pumpkin carving and even the simplest moments sitting together at home. These are the memories we want to hold onto. These are the things that matter. ❤️

A HUGE thank you to every single blood donor. 🩸❤️

You may never know the name of the child whose life you help, the family whose fear you ease, or the parent who gets to breathe a little easier because donated blood was available when their child desperately needed it.

But tonight, we are reminded just how precious your generosity is.

Every person who takes the time to donate blood is helping families like ours through some of their hardest moments. Your kindness gives children like Maya the support their bodies need, and it gives parents like us one less thing to fear in an already frightening journey.

To every blood donor, blood donation team member, NHS professional, community nurse and hospital staff member caring for our girl: thank you. We are so grateful for every one of you. You are part of Maya’s village, too. 🩷

And to everyone who continues to stand beside us — checking in, sending messages, sharing Maya’s story, donating, fundraising and reminding us that we’re not walking this road alone — thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Your kindness makes a tangible difference to our family. Donations help ease the pressure of the mortgage, household bills and hospital travel, while allowing us to say yes to little things that bring Maya happiness and help us make precious memories together.

We never take that generosity for granted. Every donation, every share, every message and every act of kindness means more than you could possibly know. ❤️

If you’d like to help Maya and our family, please consider sharing her story or making a donation via PayPal as a gift to

Reference: Maya’s Journey


Bank transfer to Santander 

D C Nash

Sort code 09-01-36

Account 49579984

Reference: Maya’s Journey


I was told Santander sometimes decline transfer so:

Bank transfer to Lloyds Bank:

Mrs Dellanie Nash 

Sort code 30-93-34

Account 40263960

Reference: Maya’s Journey


And if you’re eligible to donate blood, please consider doing so. You could one day be the reason another family gets to take their child home.

We may be back in hospital tonight, but we are surrounded by so much love, and for that, we will always be grateful.

Collect moments, not things. Hold your loved ones close, make the memories, and never take an ordinary day for granted. 💜

Thank you for being part of Maya’s village. One day at a time. One moment at a time. Always Team Maya. ❤️🩷



 
 
 

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