Help with Henry’s Journey

We are organising this fundraiser for our beautiful friends who are going through an incredibly tragic and difficult time. Many people have asked what they can do to help, and the least we can do is try to help relieve some financial stress. 

Henry’s Story:

Two-year-old Henry and his beautiful family (mum Alex, dad Mark, Nanny Dawn, and three loving siblings Ava, Thea and Teddy) have been living their worst nightmare.

In June 2022, during a fun morning playing in the park, a happy and healthy little Henry had a fall and hit his head. An ambulance was called because Alex and Mark were worried that Henry might have had a concussion. Everything initially seemed okay, but when Henry wasn’t quite himself the next day, Alex took him to the hospital for further testing. It was a complete shock when a CT scan revealed a large brain tumour. Henry was immediately transferred to Queensland Children’s Hospital to prepare for a 10-hour-long complex brain surgery a couple of days later. The surgery left Henry initially unable to move, speak, eat, or do any of the things he could do just a few days earlier. Henry was looking at a long road of recovery ahead of him.

After the surgery, Alex and Mark had to wait anxiously for the results of the tumour biopsy. Sadly, the news was not good and Henry was diagnosed with a type of brain cancer called medulloblastoma. Henry then faced many months of chemotherapy, but his prognosis seemed promising and the doctors were confident they had removed most of the tumour. 

Henry remained in hospital for over 56 days while he recovered from his surgery, with one of his parents always by his side. 

Henry has made everyone around him so proud with how well he is handling all his therapies, his strength, and his beautiful happy attitude.

When Henry was well enough, he began his chemo journey. The side effects have been tough on Henry and he spent most of the time unwell and in and out of hospital. 

Tragically, a couple of weeks into Henry’s chemo journey, Henry’s family received the results of further testing on Henry’s tumour and were heartbroken to learn that his diagnosis was significantly different to what they had initially thought. Henry was diagnosed with ATRT (atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour).

This new diagnosis is more aggressive with a much worse prognosis. Just as Henry’s family started getting used to their new normal, this devastating news took them back to square one. Henry’s chemo had to be paused for him to start targeted radiation before further treatment. He is currently having radiation treatment 5 days a week, which involves going under general anaesthesia every day so they can target his brain. After this round of radiation, little Henry will again have to go through another extensive round of chemotherapy. 

Henry and his family live on the Gold Coast and most of his treatment is given at the Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane. This means a lot of commuting for Alex and Mark, and it means their close-knit family has been separated a lot of this time.

Alex and Mark are incredibly grateful for the amazing healthcare Henry is receiving, but the additional financial burden is starting to take its toll. Mark has had to take a substantial amount of time off work and cut down to part-time, and Alex has been unable to return to work so she can take care of Henry full-time (a lot of that time is spent in and out of hospital), while caring for their other three beautiful children and ensuring everyone's needs are met.

Even if you would like to give up your $5 coffee today for Henry, any financial assistance would help ease the financial pressure of their situation which is every parent's worst nightmare. All money received will go directly to Alex and Mark to help cover their day-to-day living costs so they can focus their time and energy on their four beautiful children.

With any extra money received, they would love to buy some special gifts for other children like Henry who may be spending their Christmas in hospital this year.