Abby’s story shines the spotlight on Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
AS Childhood Cancer Awareness Month begins, an Ipswich family is reflecting on a year that has changed their lives forever.
This time last August, five-year-old Abigail was diagnosed with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a moment her parents, Sarah and Rick, say shattered life as they knew it.
The warning signs had been there – the bruising, the fatigue, the little things that didn’t feel right.
But like many parents, they clung to hope.
“You don’t ever want to believe it,” Sarah said.
“Childhood cancer feels like something that happens to other families, not yours.”
Their path to diagnosis was long and confusing.
Multiple doctors were unsure what was wrong. But once Abby was referred to Queensland Children’s Hospital, everything changed in a single phone call.
“We went in for tests, came home, and the hospital rang saying, ‘You need to come back. Bring clothes for two weeks,’ ” Rick said.
“That was the moment everything hit.”
Within hours, Abby began intensive chemotherapy.
She spent weeks in hospital undergoing lumbar punctures, bone marrow biopsies, port surgery and daily treatments that would continue for months.
The shy, gentle little girl who loved dancing and playing with her big sister suddenly found herself navigating a world of needles, medications and procedures no child should ever face.
“She fought everything at the start,” Sarah said.
“She didn’t like the hospital, blood tests, pokes, prods. It was full on. But she’s brave. She knows she has to do it.”
Even now, in the lower intensity maintenance phase, Abby takes daily chemotherapy and faces another year and a half of treatment.
Her mum says steroid cycles leave her cranky, sleepless and ravenous. A simple cold can send her to hospital for days.
Her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes are only now beginning to grow back, something she celebrates with pride.
“She’s so happy her hair is growing,” Sarah said.
Dad Rick also cut his hair short, “…so she wouldn’t feel alone.”
The diagnosis reshaped the entire family.
Abby’s older sister, Emily, has had to adjust to a new normal, and Sarah and Rick stepped back from work.
Their world became hospital appointments, medication schedules and survival mode.
“It impacts every aspect of your life,” Sarah said.
“We didn’t know how good we had it until it wasn’t anymore.”
But they also discovered a community they never knew existed. In waiting rooms and wards, they met other families walking the same path.
Charities like Redkite, Camp Quality, the Leukaemia Foundation, Starlight and MakeAWish, who gifted Abby her puppy, Betsy, became lifelines.
“You realise how many families are quietly battling this,” Sarah said.
“Any support for childhood cancer charities makes a huge difference.”
Sarah said the family was deeply grateful for every bit of support they’ve received, and for the kindness people have shown.
Their GoFundMe, Support Abby’s Journey with Childhood Leukaemia, was created reluctantly, after friends and family urged them to accept help.
It now supports medical costs, travel, parking, and Abby’s long term recovery.
Sarah describes Abby as a brave, resilient and beautiful little girl, and says the family is profoundly thankful to the Queensland Children’s Hospital staff who continue to care for her with such compassion.
As Ipswich marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Sarah hopes people remember this:
“Kids do get cancer. It’s not as rare as people think. And when it happens, it affects the whole family. Any support, any kindness, helps more than people realise.”
