A family affected by childhood cancer that made it their mission to help others be in a better position than themselves. Meet Steven, Marion and Isaac.
You have lived the cancer journey with your daughter, Marion. What was her diagnosis and how are you traveling on your journey?
In September, 2020 my Daughter Marion was diagnosed with Pre B Acute lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). We are currently on maintenance and half way through treatment. To be honest it has been a tough journey for us all, Marion's brother Isaac missed her heaps while she was in Sydney undertaking treatment. In total we were in Sydney for around 9 months before we were able to move back to Canberra.
How did you become involved in Win the Day?
I ran into Kristy in Sydney Hospital whilst our kids were undergoing treatment. I got involved as it was something I personally could relate to and wanted to help others in similar situations. Kristy sent me an email asking if I was interested in helping out and it was been an awesome experience to meet others in the community who are dedicated to helping others.
What has been your favourite memory from your involvement with the charity?
My favourite memories would be doing zoom calls and talking to others volunteering for different aspects of the Charity. Each week I'm guaranteed to be laughing about something random that doesn't have me thinking about tough times in hospital with my Daughter.
Where would you be if you weren't helping Win the Day Charity?
If I wasn't helping the Charity I'd be probably trying to help someone else out. Its the kind of thing I like to do with my spare time.
You work full time, how do you find time to help Win the Day?
Oh man, this is a tough one. I just make time where I can. If it isn't working, including running a small business, I'm taking care of kids and trying to rebuild happy times for them. Most time is late at night or in between different things that need to get done to make things work.
How do you win the day?
For me winning the day would be seeing my kids healthy and spending time together. This time last year I had to come to terms that there was a chance my daughter may not be here. That's been a tough thing to say or even write. This obstacle in our lives has really made me appreciate the time I have more with loved ones and re-evaluate what you think is important in life. All I can do is take each day at a time and really appreciate what's right in front of me.
