2016 Stories of Hope
When Bev Gibbon’s daughter Wendy was referred to a major treating hospital several hours from her home for treatment, the family was thrown into turmoil as they needed to be by Wendy’s side to be able to support her.
Much to the relief of Bev and her family, we were able to provide comfortable and safe accommodation at one our accommodation centres.
“We felt fortunate to be by Wendy’s side as she struggled through her treatment,” said Bev.
If you know anyone who’s struggled to have a baby, you’ll understand why little Daniel is his parents’ pride and joy.
So when Jo and Phil discovered a deep, blue bruise on Daniel’s leg and that he was extremely tired, they hoped for the best. Following a series of tests, Daniel was rushed to Melbourne and diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
“After everything we went through to bring him into the world, we couldn’t believe we were hearing the word cancer,” said Daniel’s mother Jo.
On Mother’s day last year Kate received the worst possible news… her son had cancer. There is no good time to hear news like this and on that awful day last year Kate, her son Alex and their family began a long and uncertain journey.
Adriana could hardly believe she was saying those words to her children. When she walked out of the doctor’s room after hearing her diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, she was totally unprepared. Yet Adriana made sure that she tried to keep smiling during her seven year journey to be cancer free.
"The decision of a mother, half a world away, to donate her baby’s umbilical cord blood is keeping me alive…” said 25 year old Jake.
Ella and Kerryn's story shows how important 'a home away from home' can be for families at Christmas.