On November 15, after being airlifted to Newcastle for tests, we found out Mac had a large tumour on his spine, it was between T3 and T6 and as evidenced by his increasing loss of movement in his legs, was starting to cause damage to his spine. Mac was operated on that night - a procedure called a laminectomy - in the hope of removing pressure on the spine and also to take a tissue sample to enable testing to occur to determine the type of cancer. 

Four months in, Mac has spent hours and hours of time in rehabilitation and is on his third rigorous round of chemotherapy. He has lost 10 kilos, all of his hair and the ability to walk. However, he has gained an immense insight into what it is to suffer yet push past pain and discomfort to achieve real progress. The cancer is currently behaving, it has shrunk almost entirely. Mac has worked hard to regain weight and build muscle: he can sit up on his own, transfer on his own from wheelchair to bed (and back again) and as recent as the last two weeks, he can now stand up with the aid of hand rails. 

We are a long way from home and a long way from the end goal of beating cancer, walking again and returning home to Uralla. But we are well on the way due to Mac’s tenacity, the hard work of his rehab and oncology teams at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick and the immense and humbling support of our community. How fortunate we are.