‘We cried all through the first week. We thought she was going to die.’

Mother Ellen: 'I realized something was wrong when Eva screamed in pain at night. She lost weight, looked sick, she started falling asleep more often during the day, and she had trouble walking on her right leg. That's just not normal, so we insisted on seeing a pediatrician. An MRI scan was done at the Wilhelmina Hospital in Assen. The result showed a tumor, which led to her being transferred to the Princess Máxima Center by ambulance immediately. The first time, it felt like entering hell. All those bald, pale children... But for Eva, it quickly became a familiar place, despite all the unpleasant things that had to happen, and it became a second home for us as parents too.'

Eva: 'I never minded going to the Máxima Center. In fact, I kind of liked it because I really wanted to recover. And I could play there so nicely.'

Mother Ellen: 'We knew she was in good hands, but the fact remained that she had only a 20 percent chance of survival. When you hear something like that, the world collapses. During the first week, we just cried. We thought she was going to die. Eva also asked me at some point: 'Mom, am I going to die?' I honestly answered: 'Mom doesn't know.'

Adopting a positive mindset

Father Sharrol: 'Nevertheless, you have to keep going. We tried as much as possible to stay positive and fill our time with Eva with good things. Easier said than done, but I can still recommend to anyone in such a situation to flip the switch and adopt that positive mindset. That's also for your child. After all, you don't know how it will turn out. For all we knew, Eva might not have been here anymore. At least then we could look back on those beautiful moments together.'

Mother Ellen: 'Eva pulled us through. She's such a cheerful girl; she was even during the treatment. Despite the heavy chemo, which also caused her beautiful long hair to fall out, she still felt pretty good. Staying in bed wasn't for Eva. She would tear through the center's halls on her little bike, and we'd be running after her with that chemo pole... Her strong and resilient character helped us tremendously to endure everything.'

Pure happiness 

Father Sharrol: 'I clearly remember the moment I realized things might actually turn out fine. Eva had a total of 14 rounds of chemo and 40 sessions of radiation, with the last 10 being lung radiation. At the beginning of the lung radiation, the doctors said the metastases were no longer visible on the scans; the chemo had done its job there too. Suddenly, things looked a lot brighter, and I had this strong feeling that she would probably make it. At that moment, I experienced pure happiness. It was very intense.'

Mother Ellen: 'Shortly before her fourth birthday, she got the flower bead; not long after, she went to school for the first time. With short hair.'

Eva: 'At school, I noticed that I was a bit different from the other kids. They had longer hair, and they didn't have a port-a-cath. That's why I was allowed to tell the whole class what had happened to me, with photos from the hospital on the digital board, and I showed them my bravery cord. I told them that I had been in the MRI tunnel many times. I had to lie very still in there, and I could watch 'Frozen.' My classmates could ask me anything about it. Then they understood. I don't have any remaining problems related to the cancer, but I still talk about it with my friends sometimes. They're always very kind and sweet.' 

Gratitude 

Mother Ellen: 'Eva is lucky that she has hardly any long-term effects from the treatment. That could have been very different, of course. I even dare to say that the whole process surrounding Eva's illness has brought something good to our family too. We've become incredibly close. We enjoy the little things a lot and have a more positive outlook on life. We've been through the toughest period of our lives so far, so some things become very relative. Most of all, we're incredibly grateful that Eva is still here!'