Emily's Fight

Emily is a bright and funny four-year-old who loves collecting miniature things, drawing and colouring in, riding her scooter, watching rap battles on YouTube, dancing and singing, "doing make-up", instigating water fights, playing pranks, and chasing her puppies, Toby and Milo.

Last month, Emily became disinterested in eating and started complaining of a sore tummy. After multiple visits to the doctors, she was thought to have a virus and started on a course of antibiotics.

Last Thursday, Emily woke up, unable to bear weight on her right leg. Her parents, Emma and Brodie, immediately knew something was wrong and took her to their local hospital. Here, they were assured that Emily most likely had inflammation in her hip joint as a result of a viral infection—a common cause of limping in children. Emily was about to be discharged, but her mum, Emma, pushed for a scan of her abdomen.

The scan revealed a large mass on Emily's right adrenal gland, measuring 12 x 8cms. The sonographer who broke the news could only apologise, saying, "I'm so sorry. I don't know what to tell you."

Emily was immediately transported to the Oncology ward at the Queensland Children's Hospital, where she was diagnosed with Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is a rare and aggressive childhood cancer that develops from immature nerve cells in the embryo. It is completely random.

At the QCH, further tests revealed that, in 4 weeks, Emily's cancer has already spread to her spine, her head, her legs, her bones, and her bone marrow.

The five-year survival rate is 50%.

Over the next 18 months, Emily will undertake a gruelling treatment regime that consists of high-dose chemotherapy, multiple rounds of radiation, two bone marrow transplants, immunotherapy, and surgery to remove her primary tumour. Since her diagnosis last week, Emily has completed her first round of chemo, received two blood transfusions, and had a central line implanted in her chest for chemo. She is now on a feeding tube to improve her nutrition. Her bunny, "Bunny", is also wearing a mini feeding tube to "help his tummy get better".

If Emily survives, she will be unable to have children. There is a high chance that she will lose her hearing, encounter thyroid and digestive problems, and be more likely to develop secondary cancers, such as leukaemia. In the coming weeks, Emily's hair will fall out, and she will become prone to infections, as well as mouth sores and ulcers, nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting. She has returned to nappies again, which fortunately for now she sees as a game in which she can dress up like her cousin, "Baby Evie".

We have great faith and trust in the medical team who are treating Emily. However, Neuroblastoma is a cruel and relentless cancer that has a high chance of relapse, with limited treatment options available in Australia. There are promising trials and vaccines available in America; however, these are expensive and unreachable for most families, costing anywhere between $400,000 and $500,000.

We are raising funds to help Emma and Brodie cope with the day-to-day challenges of caring for a child with cancer and to save for potentially life-saving treatment for Emily. Emma and Brodie work at Woolies; Brodie has taken 12 months unpaid leave to care full time for Emily, while Emma works to cover the mortgage and the cost of living.

As a family, we are devastated by Emily's diagnosis, but we are comforted by the fact that children are resilient; that there are so many brilliant minds working on a cure; and that despite everything, Emily maintains her sass and her sense of humour. The other day, when asked by a nurse what she had eaten for breakfast, Emily responded, "a rum and coke". Emily calls her oncologist a chicken nugget, and when presented with hospital food, she will respond, “What the heck!”

This is Emily's fight. It's a big fight for a four-year-old. But we are following Emily's lead, and we will be there to hold her and love her, every step of the way.