Your beautiful acts of kindness helped Hugh and his family

Hugh was only three and had just been diagnosed with Wilms tumour. He had to be
admitted immediately:

“’I had thought we would only be in hospital for a few hours. I was going to take Hughie’s
big brother Jordan to soccer that night. I was not prepared for staying overnight.
Then someone handed me this bag with everything I needed.”

It was the first of many times Redkite supporters like you were there for Hugh and his family

Over the long days, weeks and months, Redkite provided emotional support, financial support, and someone Tess could talk to who understood what she was going through. After six months of chemotherapy, Tess brought home a little boy who was very happy his tumour was gone. But that joy was soon cut short.

Tess, who is a single mum, had to juggle caring for Hugh through his cancer treatment with being there for his big brother.

Thankfully, Redkite supporters like you were there for her.

“I faced a lot of judgment. I remember having to leave Hughie at hospital to take Jordan to a soccer game and another parent saying ‘if my son had cancer, I’d be with him all the time.’” said Tess.

“But Redkite listened without judgment and found answers when I wasn’t coping.”

Those answers included financial help. Tess had to quit her job when Hugh was diagnosed. Even though Tess received strong support from her family, she struggled to pay for out-of-costs expenses that no one hears about like paying for expensive hospital car parking every month

“It was really hard to ask for help, but Redkite made it easy. They’d call me up and say, ‘Tess, we’ve got it covered.’”

Your gifts also brought books to help Hugh and Jordan cope with the difficult emotions they were facing.

And when the family was unexpectedly sent home from hospital at midnight on Christmas Eve, you made sure there was at least one parcel under the Christmas tree for them.

Today, Tess has two healthy, happy sons who love racing each other on their mountain bikes. She says they couldn’t have made it without people like you, who were “a rock for our family”.