Well... School Captain... How good is that

School Captain.......!!!!

Wow, we were happy that he applied but I did not expect that he would pull it off. After all, his older brother had the title 3 years earlier so my expectations were low. Not Owen, and I guess that with the experience of the last 3+ years under the belt, nothing was going to stop him.....

School Captains 2013 and 2010...

School has always been an important part of his life and we kept it going throughout his treatment. He would drag himself out of bed, wanting to throw up and feeling very unwell, take some powerful anti nausea tablets and off to school if possible. We would drop him off to school after he had been in theatre in the morning under a general anaesthetic. He was really, really sick, and vulnerable to infection but it was a risk we had chosen to take as it was important that he live as normal a life as possible. School was the structure, and the glue that he needed in his life and Hampton Primary looked after him. When I reflect on it, the School always looked out for him, and he felt very safe there. How lucky are we to be a part of this community. There are many, many children that have not had the same.

Owen's Return to School 2010.
Joel became School Captain that year
 

His first day back to school was the beginning of a new year. As you can see he was full of steroids, and had lost his hair. But it was important for all of us that life was to be as "normal" as possible. 
Cancer affects people in many different ways. For Owen it has changed everything. He is now driven to lead and make a difference. He wants to fund raise, mentor and inspire. He has met a lot of people that have looked after him, from teachers, friends, medical professionals through to companies that looked out for him, sporting heroes, television personalities, philanthropists and charities and the inspirational people behind them. People looked out for him.

I think School Captain is a part of the bigger picture.

An Update... Feb 2013. 3 years and 3 months

An update...
Well a few things have happened since the last post.

Our group with lanterns in all colours

Walking along the Yarra

Light the night. Wow what a night. We were encouraged to join up by our beautiful family friend, Lisa. His Great Auntie, family members, close friends, and others touched by or survivors of Leukaemia, Lymphoma and Breast Cancer. And that was just in our little group of about 30. Owen set up a team and with every one's kind donations, just on $3000 dollars was raised for The Leukaemia Foundation. He had the 11th highest fund raising team..... Not bad as we had set our goal at $1000 and thought that was too high.. It was a simple yet inspirational gathering where we walked along the Yarra on a beautiful evening in Melbourne, carrying lanterns colored blue for "survivors", gold in remembrance to those we have lost and blue in hope that one day there will be a cure. Owen was amazed at the generosity of everyone. 


And the fundraising trail kept going....


Owen and his mum went to a luncheon for Make-A-Wish. There was an audience of about 12 high wealth philanthropists and they both told their stories and what the amazing charity Make-A-Wish was and what they meant to our family. They then stayed for lunch with Owen chatting away. Impressive for an 11 year old. Even more impressive for his mum.

Sophie and Dale... From The Block.. on our table.....!

Lets not forget the Ponting Foundation Ball. A wonderful corporate event where money is raised for children's cancer support and research. Owen could not attend and talk because he was on a school camp. So his mum stepped in and spoke in front of 400 people telling our families story. Before he went on camp, he caught up with Ricky and played another game of Cricket on the MCG.
And he bowled him out...... Truly... Click here for the YouTube clip


Oh, and the Pink Lady Art Show. 2 full days of volunteering and contributing. Always helpful. He loves helping out his great friend, Lisa.

Sculpting for the
Pink Lady Art Show

Yes, life has been moving along with lots of important events popping up.
All is good.

And still on large doses of chemo tablets, and chemo shots, until late April... Then the treatment stops..

And we wait for another two and a half years for the all clear...