Glass House Mountains family hit with news no family wants to hear
By Kirra Livingstone
IT was the devastating Mother’s Day news that tore Jayde Codey’s heart in two.
A doctor at Sunshine Coast University Hospital had just told her and partner Nick that their two-year-old son, Oliver, had been diagnosed with the rare acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
‘Ollie’s’ mum and dad, Nick, were simply lost for any way to express their shock.
In just a matter of days their “happy and funny little man” had become exhausted and apathetic.
Out of an abundance of caution his concerned parents took him to hospital where he underwent a series of tests before the shock diagnosis.
The tests showed a high white blood cell count and to make matters even worse, Ollie had a rare genetic mutation that meant he only had a 50 per cent chance of responding to normal treatment.
“It was heartbreaking to hear,” Nick said.
“We were just a normal family. We didn’t know anything about leukemia except some kids get it and some of them die.
“When it’s your own son, you just don’t know what to think. It’s horrible.”
What was even harder, was explaining to Oliver and his five-year-old brother, Mason, as to why they had to go to hospital.
“I think at first he didn’t get it and kept asking us to go home which as a parent and knowing what’s wrong, it’s just so heartbreaking, but after a while he realised there must be a reason why I’m here,” Nick said.
“Ollie doesn’t really understand we’ve just told him that he’s sicker than usual and he has to be at the hospital and that his medicine is not immediate and it’s going to take some time.
“That’s the way we have tried to explain it to Mason too, the first thing he asked me when we spoke to him about it was ‘Is my brother going to die?’ and that is a confronting question when people do die from Leukemia.”
Nick said they were trying to stay strong for Ollie, but said it was a huge challenge to try and get down to the Brisbane Children’s hospital each week for chemotherapy.
Their only reliable transport vehicle suffered a blown head gasket just before Oliver’s diagnosis, and Nick said they need to organise a different mode of transport to ensure they can safely get him to his appointments.
Oliver’s family have started a Go Fund Me to try and organise a more reliable transport method and to cover ongoing medical expenses and accommodation near the hospital.
To donate, visit https://cutt.ly/zeuwOPyL
