Aspiring veterinarian surgeon Fergus, from Perth, has been named one of the winners of the Redkite and Coles Dare to Dream Scholarship for 2024.

“My goal overall, at the pinnacle, is that I would love to be a veterinarian surgeon. But my goal for right now is just to walk again, pretty much act like I used to before this all happened.”

The Redkite and Coles Dare to Dream Scholarship was established 11 years ago, to inspire young people whose physical or mental health has been affected by cancer, to achieve their goals and ambitions. This scholarship, funded by Coles, helps young people build their future and can be put towards education or life goals.

Fergus was diagnosed with brain Medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumour, in April 2023. He was in Papua New Guinea with his dad, David, about to begin the Kokoda Track, when he fell quite ill.

“A lot of people thought it was just a tropical virus or dehydrated or something, they had no idea it was cancer.”

Two porters and David had to turn back from the trek and take Fergus to the Pacific International Hospital for tests, but he was sent back to the hotel for the night because a major bus trauma incident had occurred.

The next morning, he was still very sick, so they returned to the hospital where a CT scan finally revealed the brain tumour. Fergus was diagnosed by the neurologist in Papua New Guinea on the Monday and the family spent the rest of the week organising for Fergus to be flown to Perth on a Medevac flight.

Immediately after landing back in Australia, Fergus was taken to Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH).

“Once the neurosurgeons fully confirmed my diagnosis, I was scheduled for surgery two days later.”

The surgery was an extremely long operation to remove the tennis-ball sized tumour from Fergus’s brain. After the surgery, Fergus seemed to be recovering well in hospital. Until he wasn’t.

“For the first two or three days after, Ferg literally was talking and moving around in his bed. So we kind of thought, it’s all okay. But then literally everything stopped,” mum Natalie said.

“That was obviously a hell of a shock for Dave and I.

Due to the swelling in his brain post-surgery, Fergus lost mobility of the right side of body as well as the ability to walk, talk and swallow. He began radiotherapy four weeks after the surgery, for six weeks. He then had four months of chemotherapy which ended in January 2024.

“In mid-February 2024 Fergus started his intense rehabilitation journey with PCH’s I-Rehab Team.  He worked on improving speech, learnt how to walk, write and use his right side of his body.”

Fergus has since progressed to walk unaided.

Ever since he was “tiny”, Fergus has always wanted to be a veterinarian surgeon. He has always had a love for animals.

The Dare to Dream Scholarship will help fund Fergus’s dream of becoming a vet.

“I would use the money from Redkite to get resources I need to make my way through Murdoch University and my course.”

 “I may need a new laptop and new software to help me take better notes, and maybe hire a tutor to help me and help organise my notes.”

He has plans in place to get into university in 2025, after studying a bridging course.

“I will do ag-science and that will lead into veterinarian science. I would like to be a vet in Broome first. It’s like a country town that is also like a city.”

“And once you perform surgery on a crocodile, a dog with rabies won’t seem that bad.”

While he works towards his goal of becoming a vet, Fergus is also thinking about getting better and stronger.

“I would like to be able to go to an ice cream shop or something and not have to worry my parents about their son trip over.”

With his family behind him, Fergus continues to work towards his dream.

“He’s got his life ahead of him, and he will be awesome.”

Since 2013, Redkite and Coles have awarded 500 Dare to Dream Scholarships worth over $800,500 to support young Australians whose aspirations and goals have been impacted by their cancer diagnosis.