Hannah, Ben and Kit’s family story

Hannah and Ben live in the Newcastle region of NSW with their two children, daughter Eden, nine and son Kit, six.  

In August 2022, at just three years old, Kit was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.  

“It happened quite fast. He was sick with high fevers that weren’t subsiding, had no appetite, was very tired and he was complaining that his legs were sore,” Hannah said. 

It was the fevers that prompted Ben to take Kit to emergency one night.  

After waiting hours to be triaged, the doctors told Ben to bring Hannah to the hospital. They were told Kit needed more tests, as his blood work showed low white cells, as well as low red cells and platelets too, known as pancytopenia.   

Kit was admitted and had a bone marrow aspiration the following day.  

Hannah had gone home to have a shower and check on Eden, when Ben called and said she needed to come back to the hospital.  

“So we knew at that point that it wasn’t good news. I managed to drive back to the hospital not knowing what was waiting for us,” Hannah said. 

“It was terrible news. At the time I just remember crying, Hannah was crying. We had no idea how or why this happens. I think I remember saying, ‘I just want to have a beer with him when he is 18 years old.” Ben said.  

Kit started treatment almost immediately.    

Hospital life and treatment

The first 28 days of treatment were intense, with Kit being treated with almost three times the amount of chemotherapy as an adult. 

“They try and hit the cancer cells really hard and fast with a whole different combination of chemo, IV chemo, oral chemo, steroids…a whole mixture of stuff,” Hannah said.  

Kit had eight months of intense frontline treatment. 

The hardest and most challenging complication was that he completely stopped walking for the first two months of treatment. 

“He had just no strength whatsoever. He couldn’t really even sit up in bed. That was a combination of different things – steroids and being in bed all the time,” Hannah said. 

“That was a really rough time. He went back into nappies and we couldn’t take him to the toilet. When he started walking again, his mobility was still pretty limited. He had quite a significant limp.” 

Kit went on to have 18 months of maintenance treatment at home and developed low blood sugar as a result of the oral chemo he was taking. 

“His liver function was impacted to the point where it wasn’t able to provide or break down sugars into his blood,” Ben said. 

How did Redkite support Kit and his family?

Hannah and Ben first received Redkite support with the Red Bag in hospital.  

“Our social worker gave us that bag the first day. The most useful thing was the toiletries, the shampoo and deodorant. Because when you have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, you’re trying to remember what you need mostly for your child, and then you can neglect yourself a bit,” Hannah said. 

The Coles vouchers and Redkite financial assistance helped eased some financial pressure, paying for car registration and electricity bills. 

“The Coles vouchers were honestly sometimes a godsend. Basically, we were a single-income family, so with cost of living, we just had to deal with a little bit more on top of that,” Ben said. 

Ben accessed the JobAccelerator program for career advice and support, which helped him gain confidence in his professional skills.  

“I just felt at the time that I was trapped with my career. I wasn’t looking for a new job, but it had been so long since I’d done anything job-related.  

“And the program really taught me some interview skills, resume skills, and what to do with LinkedIn. It was very valuable to me.” 

Ben also had 1:1 counselling, which helped him deal with the anxiety that crept in after Kit finished treatment.  

“You get to the end of treatment and think that’s it. But it’s not. You think well, this could come back at any time, any chance it gets. The anxiety, the stress, and the depression that I got after that period was unexpected.” 

Counselling helped push Ben into seeking further help. 

“It helped me try and push myself to not sit indoors, get outside and do some things. And eventually helped spurred me to go see a doctor and get some medication as well.” 

Life now

Kit finished treatment in October 2024. While he still has regular check-ups, he is back at school in year one and has taken up karate. 

“I’ve been trying to focus on getting him caught up on discipline and strength, and that’s why we chose karate for him,” Ben said. 

Eden is involved in choir and a dance group, and both her and Kit both have swimming lessons once a week. 

Hannah wants other families to understand that it’s okay to feel angry and upset. 

“Nothing that you’ve done has caused this to happen. You’re not alone, but it’s okay to be feeling what you are, to be angry or to be really upset and feel like it’s unfair, because it is. There’s no reason why this happened.” 

Ben wants dads and men who are navigating this journey to know there is support for them too. 

“There’s no reason to be stoic in a time where you’ve already proven how brave and tough you are. Just reach out for help if you need it.” 

“Knowing that we could fall back on the help from Redkite was amazing.”