Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children sending cancer treatment bells home to patients

And medics were determined that one young patient would not miss out due to pandemic restrictions.

Staff at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Children sent a special bell to six-year-old Dara Monaghan to mark the end of her treatment for a rare brain cancer.

During lockdown, and having to shield, the close-knit family became ever closer but the covid restrictions meant that when Dara’s chemotherapy treatment finished in February, the opportunity to ring the bell on the ward was not an option.

Instead, the celebration was had at home in Dumbarton.

Her mum Sarah said: “The team posted out the bell and a little t-shirt and we had a tea party and balloons and made a big deal of it and she was really happy with that.

"She was really delighted to be getting to the end of treatment and getting her line removed.

Dara Monahan

"She was really looking forward to being able to have a bath and go for a swim – starting to feel more normal.”

Two years ago, Dara had a recurring cough and suspected sleep apnoea.

A surgeon’s routine check of her vocal cords and an MRI then discovered a rare low grade brain stem glioma.

Sarah said: "It was a big shock, it felt like everything in our life just disappeared.

"The diagnosis was in May 2019 and chemotherapy treatment began the following month.

"We were terrified, because at the start they told us she might die, but you are doing your best because you don’t want her or her brothers to be scared.

"You don’t have a choice – you have to just get on with things."

Sarah was as honest as possible with Dara and her brothers, Riley, 13 and Ciaran, five, explaining the treatment and using YouTube videos to demystify treatments and procedures.

Sarah said: "It really helped her in the ward.

Dara Monahan with brother Riley

"She was always really happy and tolerated her treatment really well, skipping up and down the wards – all the nurses loved her.

"She just got on with it.

"Throughout it all the staff have been just brilliant, everyone knows Dara by name and they all make you feel so welcome – it just makes a stressful situation so much easier."

While it might not mean the end of their cancer treatment, ringing the bell can mean the end of one part of the cancer journey.

In Dara’s case, while there is hope for the future, she will require close monitoring and there is no accurate prognosis.

The tumour has shrunk, but she will continue to be scanned every three months.

Sarah added: “We still have a lot of fear for the future – it’s still there.

"I’m hopeful that she will be fine and be okay, but we try not to dwell on it.

Dara Monahan

"We have what we have just now. I think if you dwell on the ‘what ifs’, you can miss out on a lot of life that’s happening now.”

Jamie Redfern, Director of Women and Children’s Service at NHSGGC, said: "We’re delighted that Dara and her family have been able to ring the bell at home as they mark the end of one part of their cancer journey.

"It’s often such an emotional moment and in the hospital environment it is something that brings tears, smiles and usually hugs with families, children and the doctors, nurses and teams who support them.

"With the covid restrictions we’ve not been able to do that within the ward, but we are delighted that bells have gone to families to recreate the experience at home.

"Throughout covid, we’ve been working incredibly hard to look after all of our patients with cancer and while, for some, ringing the bell doesn’t mean the end of treatment, it is a mark of hope for what lies ahead.”