Real Stories
Getting through the chaos together
The youngest of three brothers, Jackson was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour in June of 2021.
Brooke tells us about Jackson’s diagnosis, how they were separated from their family for treatment and what that meant for their family Christmas.
Jackson’s diagnosis
My husband David and I have three bouncing boys, Jayden, Jye and Jackson. The boys love to ride motorbikes and are constantly rumbling and playing with each other. We lived in Darwin in the Northern Territory until my youngest son Jackson was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour in one of his kidneys last year.
With no paediatric oncology services in the NT to accommodate Jackson, I needed to take him interstate. We went to Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane to have his kidney removed and the tumour biopsied.
I initially thought that we would be in Brisbane for a couple of weeks, so I only packed a small bag for myself and for Jackson. Shortly after the surgery, I got the phone call from the oncologist that the tumour was cancerous and Jackson would need to start chemotherapy in a few days, which meant that we could not get home.
Christmas in chaos
Jackson and I moved into a small unit provided by Childhood Cancer Support while he was undergoing treatment and David kept the rest of the family back in Darwin. With the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, by the end of 2021 my family was apart for months at a time, which was really hard.
David was finally able to bring the boys to Brisbane for Christmas, which was an interesting time. For the first time in two months, we were all finally able to be together. Juggling David and the kids coming and trying to plan our family Christmas while Jackson was on treatment was definitely challenging. But we were determined to make the best of Christmas this year, despite everything being so different
An unexpected lockdown and floods at the end of 2021 meant all our plans changed at the last minute. Our apartment complex was suddenly not allowing any visitors in, so it was just Jackson and I allowed, the community room and the playground had been closed. We had to relocate our plans to a nearby relative’s house on Christmas Eve with barely any warning. I remember David and I rushing around trying to hide presents and making sure Santa came for all the kids. Thankfully Redkite was there with food and fuel vouchers which helped us pay for everything.
Life in Queensland
Now that Jackson’s treatment has finished, we still need to see the oncologist and the renal team every three months, so we’ve since moved the family to Toowoomba and have settled in well. All the boys are doing well and are looking forward to Christmas this year.
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