We are so happy to report that Britney Haynes’ baby Tilly is still cancer free and doing great! The former Big Brother fan favorite just posted a new update about her daughter’s road to recovery and everything seems to be going very well.
We were starting to get a bit worried after Britney Haynes didn’t update her TogetherForTilly blog for several months, but turns out she was just really busy being a mom! Happily, Britney now has her hands full taking care of an active, bouncy baby girl instead of spending all her time shuttling back and forth to the hospital with baby Tilly.
In her latest blog update, Britney Haynes (aka Britney Godwin), says it has been a big adjustment for her and husband Ryan Godwin, going from dealing with the struggle of fighting Tilly’s cancer to just being regular parents again.
“Finishing treatment is a really strange feeling. It is hard to explain. It kind of feels like you’re being lazy. When you’re in treatment you have this plan and schedule for when and how everything is going to be accomplished. You’re working tirelessly at the goal of reaching remission or NED (no evidence of disease) status. Your life is filled with tasks like charting medications, flushing the port, managing appointments with your doctors, packing for your next hospital stay, and constantly researching. So when it suddenly stops…..it feels really really odd. You feel like you aren’t being active in fighting anymore. You feel like there must be something you should be doing. You feel like you’re being lazy.”
Of course, having baby Tilly on the road to a full recovery is the kind of strange feeling you want to have to get used to! Mom Britney says that everything is going really well. They still go to the doctors every few weeks and have physical therapy for Tilly twice a week. Beyond that, the family is ready to move on and just get on with living.
“I have started to realize that I can just live – albeit very attentively- and that IS being active in taking care of Tilly. I have channeled my nervous energy in other ways and tried to not let cancer be my life anymore. It will always be a part of our lives, and certainly something I will always have in the back of my mind, but I am tired of letting it define us and own every minute of my day.”
Britney says baby Tilly is almost 9 months old now and she’s “happy, babbling, playing, and just doing normal baby things” all day. She also apparently has “big dimples in both cheeks – just like her mom!” as well as a “touch of drama – just like her dad.” Although they are still waiting for baby Tilly’s blood counts to fully recover, the family is already planning swimming lessons for a big first family vacation to the beach.
Through everything, Britney says she hasn’t lost for a moment the knowledge of how lucky they are.
“I know so many families with children who are still fighting with unimaginable strength. These children and their amazing parents are such an inspiration. I know childhood cancer is sad. I know it isn’t something you want to think about constantly and I get that. But it is also where you find the biggest heroes in the smallest packages. Our buddy Brody is one such story! He came through his stem cell transplant at St Jude’s last week like a champ! That is just another huge step forward towards the end of treatment for him. If you want to follow his story on facebook you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/BrodysFightAgainstNeuroblastoma“
We are so happy to hear that baby Tilly is doing so great and hope she’ll be fully recovered and ready for that family beach vacation very soon!
Read all of Britney’s latest update on baby Tilly and the family at TogetherforTilly.com.
