Jamie's cuddly companions

A life-changing diagnosis

When Jamie started to experience high temperatures, a loss of appetite and a sore tummy, Nicky and her husband Les took him to the doctor. They received crushing news.

“Finding out your child has cancer is one of the hardest things any parent will ever hear,” says Nicky. “Life changes in that moment. You drop everything and become 100 percent focused on your child and knowing what the “fix” is to make them get rid of this horrible disease that’s trying to kill them.”

In September 2019, Nicky and Jamie headed to the city so the toddler could start treatment at Perth Children's Hospital. Along with the financial stress of relocating, was the toll of watching the little boy go through countless tough medical procedures.

“Holding your child down screaming and looking at you to rescue them from agony is so heart-breaking, I can’t begin to describe it. Jamie has had a multitude of general anaesthetics weekly for his treatment including lumbar punctures, bone marrow trephines, bone marrow aspirates, MRI, EEG, ECG, as well as chemotherapy drugs.”

With the support of the nursing staff and doctors at the hospital, Nicky says they were able to learn to adjust to their circumstances.

“The nursing staff are like part of our family now, they're very, very switched on and offer a shoulder to cry on. There's always somebody to talk to when you just want to scream. They're also good at explaining what the oncologist and specialists tell us,” says Nicky.

Discover: The Kids' Cancer Project Bear Program 

Support at home

Following the last round of surgery, Jamie, who celebrated his fourth birthday in 2021, was given the okay to head back to his beloved animals. Nicky is so grateful that she can now administer her son’s chemotherapy at home, bringing a sense of normality back to the family’s life after so much upheaval.

Handling the stress of Jamie’s cancer, alongside the severe side effects of his chemotherapy drugs, was even harder being isolated in Perth. Being back with the family’s support network has made the world of difference. 

The whole community has rallied to support Jamie’s recovery, none more so than his generous big sister Jess. Nicky was so proud to see her daughter lose her locks to provide a wig for someone going through cancer.

“In her words ‘it’s just hair Mum, I can grow it back, they can’t’. She has a heart of gold.”

Find out more: Community Fundraising Events

And of course Jamie has been busy playing with all his teddies at home, lining them all up and even taking them on his swing. With so many teddy pals, he has a bear to support him every day.

Nicky says between his teddy bear collection from The Kids’ Cancer Project and the amazing work being done in cancer research they are hopeful for the future.

“He still has some very bad days and he’s not out of the woods just yet. Thank you everyone for your ongoing support, it is appreciated so very much.”