Support for Baby Liam, Little Warrior in Cape Town
Wade and Jade welcomed their beautiful son Liam Hayden Godding-Dickson on 25th August in Cape Town, South Africa. He arrived by emergency C-section one month early and a large cancerous tumour was discovered in his abdomen. He has been a fighter from the moment he entered the world, and his parents rightly named him Liam for "strong-willed warrior." Newborn cancer is rare and little warrior Liam is currently fighting for his life. 
*Keep Clicking 'Read More' for Liam's Two-Month Update (posted 27th October)*
Liam's Story - updated 16th September: Doctors across South Africa have been working on Liam's unique case through Zoom meetings, and they have agreed that the tumour is too large and obstructive to be operated on. It has enclosed his main arteries and some of his organs, making it very dangerous to attempt to remove. Liam has been moved from the NICU at the hospital where he was born to the local children's hospital, and he has started chemotherapy in the hopes of shrinking the tumour so that they can possibly operate. His specific form of cancer does not always respond to chemotherapy, but the doctors believe this is his best chance.
His parents and local family are on shifts at the hospital around-the-clock helping with care and feeding, as the ward does not have capacity for the 24/7 attention needed for a preemie. In his first three weeks of life, brave Liam has undergone extensive medical testing and treatments that no little human should ever have to endure. A true warrior.
His parents have shown incredible strength in the most unimaginable of circumstances. Jade is still recovering from emergency surgery and serious medical complications herself post-delivery, including a return stay in the lCU for numerous blood clots, yet 100% of her focus is on her little boy. She is not able to walk well or drive herself, but she is back-and-forth to the hospital to be at Liam's side, feeding him and comforting him, all while trying to re-gain her own physical strength. Wade has had to return to work full-time and is juggling his time between work hours, a long commute, and hospital shifts (including overnight stays with Liam).
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Many people have asked how they can help at this time, including family and friends overseas (like us), who feel helpless from afar.
If you are able, any contribution here could help ease the burden for Wade and Jade right now...whether that be helping with meals, petrol/gas for the back-and-forth hospital drives, costs for extra carers for Liam so they are to able to get some rest, or the ability to take unpaid time off with less worry. It is unclear what the long-term cost implications of the past few weeks will be, or what it will look like moving forward. Right now, we are focused on supporting their family through the coming weeks of Liam's chemo rounds...
No contribution is too small and messages of encouragement posted here from around the world would mean so much. ❤️ We ask you to send prayers, love and positive energy down to Cape Town. Please help us share his story, too. Thank you for your kindness and support of little Liam, Wade and Jade.
*This is being organised by Wade's brother Shane and sister-in-law Meghan in the USA. We are collecting in USD, but will transfer to their South African account in Rand (online fundraising in ZAR incurs much higher fees due to banking infrastructure).
Offline Donations/Messages: If you'd prefer to donate via Venmo, PayPal, cheque, TransferWise or any other way, please message us and we can arrange it. We can enter your contribution here as an 'offline donation' with a message from you!*
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TWO-MONTH UPDATE (posted 27th October):
THANK YOU a million times over to every wonderful person who has sent love, prayers and donations for Liam and his parents. Jade and Wade have been absolutely blown away by the generosity of friends, family, and so many kind strangers across oceans and around the world (!) who have offered an outpouring of support during this time. In such an uncertain and stressful time for their little boy, it has brought strength and *hope.*
Our brave little warrior turned two months old on Monday, and also started his third round of chemotherapy. The first months of his life have been beyond challenging for Liam, his parents Jade and Wade, and his 24/7 family "care team" at the hospital (Jade's mom Alison, brother Carl, sister-in-law Lesley, and cousin Nicola -- truly, Liam's angels).
Liam has proven to be a fighter every day. Due to his chemo treatment schedule and all risks/complications, he has spent the majority of his life at the hospital -- but some brighter days have been when he has been able to go home with mommy and daddy for short windows between treatments. The chemo has been very intense, causing him nausea and discomfort, and he has struggled with fever spikes, required a blood transfusion, and has faced many other challenges every week.
Still, our strong warrior Liam continues to fight on! Unfortunately, the tumor has not shrink after the first two chemo rounds, but the teams of doctors across South Africa working on his special case believe that this plan is his best chance right now because the tumor is still inoperable due to its encapsulation with major arteries and organs. He is the youngest child undergoing cancer treatment in the children's hospital, so his situation is an anomaly, but the doctors will continue to re-evaluate and work with his parents on best next steps. Until then, we continue asking for your prayers!
UPDATES FROM MOMMY JADE:
We've included updates from Jade below, which she's posted on Facebook over the past month (sharing with her permission). It should be noted that Jade herself still cannot walk well and is suffering from critical medical complications which are being addressed simultaneously, but taking care for her little boy is her whole world. Daddy Wade has had to return to work full-time, and helps Jade care for Liam in all of his time outside work. We are very proud of the selfless love and the incredible strength both parents have shown in this unimaginable time...
*18th October: Thought I'd give an update on our little fighter. Liam has had two rounds of chemo now and another 2 to go. The tumor is still too big to operate on so we neeeeed the next two rounds to work like a bomb as he doesn't have many options if it doesn't work. I can't even think of that right now. His type of tumour is very rare. It's an abdominal teratoma and contains normal cells and cancerous cells so it's harder to shrink with chemo. We just have to stay positive that it's going to start kicking in and save our little boy. I realize I have not really shared my story either but I also have a tumour, the exact same one as Liam but mine is on my ovaries, which is less rare. My tumour pushed on my main veins going to my left leg and caused a host of blood clots and massive swelling causing me to stop walking. I am still (over a month now) waiting for my leg to be fully functional again, but once it is sorted they will operate on my tumour. [Note: not yet determined if benign or cancerous]. I wish Liam's was as easy of an operation to remove, but unfortunately his has so many complications. It's all so heartbreaking for us all, but we have to keep being positive and push through. We are both going to get through this, and I can't wait for that time to come.*
*30th September: On Monday we received some amazing news and even though we were expecting it, we never really thought it was going to happen. Our little Liam could come home for the first time! Now, before we all get too excited, it's only for a week before his next chemotherapy treatment and then he is back at Red Cross Hospital for two weeks, but what an amazing week it has been so far. Having him free from machines and being able to walk around freely with him alone has been so special. I won't even mention all the snuggles he has been getting! It is going to be so hard to go back to hospital again, but we know we need to keep fighting! His battle is not over yet and he still has a long road ahead, but we are grateful for every moment we have with him. We won't ever give up hope and we stay positive until he is safe from this horrible cancer! Love you my little boy.*
*23rd September: Our baby boy Liam got his feeding tube out today. His little body is busy healing so he can get his next round of chemo soon. I'm so proud of this little fighter and I know he has so many people cheering him on. Keep going my baby, we are going to fight this!*