I am walking for kids with cancer

In December 2021 our then 10 year old daughter Cailey was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma. Within days, she went from being a healthy child to being paralyzed from the waist down and fighting for her life. Her diagnosis and subsequent treatment, including 8 months of intensive fortnightly chemotherapy and 30 rounds of radiation, took an immense physical and emotional toll.

The cancer and its treatments severely impacted Cailey’s body, leaving her unable to walk and spending the duration of her treatment in a wheelchair. The intense treatment, involving frequent hospital stays, disrupted her life and forced her to be away from her family and friends for extended periods.

Despite the physical toll, Cailey’s treatment was successful, and by August 2022, her cancer was in remission. Cailey returned to the hospital in October for intensive rehabilitation to regain her strength and mobility.

Cailey was an ambassador for the Walk for Kids with Cancer in 2024 and we as a family decided to participate in the 10km walk. Along with our wonderful family and friends we completed the walk which was a huge achievement for Cailey as 18 months earlier we weren't sure if she was ever going to be able to walk again.

We will be walking again for kids with cancer on Sunday 23 March 2025 for Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation (SCHF). Funds raised from Walk for Kids with Cancer will go directly to the frontline of children’s healthcare across the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, including the Kids Cancer Centre at Randwick and the Cancer Centre for Children at Westmead.

Together we can help find answers to rare diseases like childhood cancer, faster ways to diagnose, support clinical trials, help build clinical and patient family-centered spaces in hospitals, and create positive patient experiences for kids and their families.

No child should ever go through cancer but those who do deserve our all.