Sunrise Family

Meet this month's inspirational family

Posted: May 04, 2007 at 6.00am

This month we feature yet another inspirational family. This is their story...

I am the mother of two wonderful boys, Bailey and Fraser.

Fraser was born with cancer. His doctors believe he has never lived a day without it. However Fraser was 10 ½ months old before the words 'neuroblastoma' and 'cancer' were mentioned in the same sentence as his name. So just a few weeks after he began to walk, our precious baby became an oncology patient and the path of his life and ours were forever changed.

When Fraser was diagnosed in January 2005, I was in hospital alone with him. I think that is where the shock set in. How did I get here? In an Emergency Department with my baby on a drip, my husband still 4 hours away in the car and some stranger telling me that they are fairly certain that my gorgeous child has cancer, with a name that I couldn't even pronounce.

That day, and the weeks and months of treatment that were to follow (and still do), was harrowing to say the least.

The impact on family life is hard. Trips back and forth to hospital take their toll, physically, financially and emotionally. With treatment 600 kilometres away from home, the great distance we travel adds significant pressures for us. When I am at treatment with Fraser, it means that he is away from Bailey and his dad for weeks at a time. For them to join us it means taking leave from school and work.

I had a business that could not be worked or managed from a distance, and we were forced to sell.

It's hard when you're isolated from support networks. We need to be in touch with family and friends but fear the mounting phone bills. These can be phenomenal and Redkite helps us to keep on top of these and other expenses.

Thankfully our social worker also provided invaluable emotional support both at diagnosis and throughout his treatment. And Fraser loved his visits from the Redkite Music Therapist, who made many difficult situations easier to cope with.

Fraser's future is unknown. As a mum, I have spent many nights wondering how I am supposed to deal with the uncertainty. He has never been in remission, but he has been stable since treatment ended. There is every chance that cancer will take him from us. It could be in the next few months, it could be in 10 years time. There is also every chance that the tumour will not grow anymore.

Regardless of our worry, tomorrow will be another day and the sun will rise. I choose for life to be full of smiles, joy and many moments of happiness.

I am still mum to two amazing young men, Bailey and Fraser.

A little about Redkite: For over 24 years, Redkite (the new name for the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children in Australia) has played a vital role in supporting children, young people and their families through the often long and difficult journey of childhood cancer across Australia. Redkite provides essential emotional, financial and educational support from the moment of diagnosis, throughout the rigorous and extended treatment periods and beyond. For more information about Redkite and its important work, please visit www.redkite.org.au

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