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<li><strong>** important update as of 10th Dec.** Reading the update below this written on the 25th November; it feels like years ago and its only been 3 weeks.</strong>
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<div>We've received news from the oncologist that one of the removed lymph nodes from Mick tested positive for cancer. As a result, chemotherapy will start as soon as his body recovers from surgery and complications. It's very unwelcome news, but we're taking it one day, and sometimes one hour, at a time.
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<div>Looking after 2 family members having chemo as well as being there for the little ones, Will and Leo , will be a challenge, especially with Caity needing to spend many days and nights every fortnight at Perth Children's with Maddie. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this time - they really do make a difference.
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<div>.Update: 25th of November.
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<div>We have an update—one we have carried heavily in our hearts, trying desperately to shield the kids from it until we felt strong enough to share, and until we had more clarity from the doctors.
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<div>We have all been in shock, unable to comprehend any of this. At one point, we sat down together and discussed never mentioning it <em>EVER</em>, because it felt so unimaginable that we feared people might think it was a scam. At another urgent family meeting, we even questioned whether to post anything on GoFundMe at all. But it’s not a scam. It’s not exaggerated. This is the harsh, heartbreaking reality: Mick too has cancer.
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<div>Just days after Maddie’s devastating Ewings Sarcoma diagnosis, Cait and Mick were struck by another unimaginable blow. Following a scheduled colonoscopy, Mick was told that doctors had found a tumour in his bowel.
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<div>The trauma this family has endured over the past few weeks is beyond words. While processing Maddie’s diagnosis, Cait has been racing her daughter to and from Perth Children’s Hospital for chemotherapy—all while Mick was rushed into Joondalup Hospital for urgent surgery.
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<div>Twenty centimetres of Mick’s bowel had to be removed. Complications followed, and infection set in. He has spent the last 10 days in hospital fighting through pain, fear, and the slow, fragile process of recovery. His healing journey will continue over at least the next six weeks. We are still unsure whether Mick will require chemotherapy and are waiting for advice from his doctors once the infections have cleared and his body is strong enough to give a clearer picture.
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<div>By this point, Mick will have been apart from his daughter for nearly three weeks. Heartbreakingly, his discharge this Thursday will coincide exactly with Maddie’s return to PCH for another six days of grueling, intensive treatment.
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<div>The timing alone feels like life playing a cruel joke.
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<div>Both of their full-time incomes have now ceased.
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<div>With all leave entitlements exhausted, their household of five is surviving solely on GoFundMe donations. Between their $800 per week rent, endless fuel costs for hospital trips, mounting medical-related expenses, and the ordinary costs of raising three children, the money simply cannot stretch much longer.
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<div>This family—who have never asked for a handout—has been living a nightmare no one deserves.
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<div>Cait is doing everything she can to stay upright for Maddie and the boys, but watching her little girl fight cancer while simultaneously processing her husband’s diagnosis has pushed her to the brink of collapse. Yet every day, she keeps going. She keeps fighting.
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<div>Thanks to YOU—your kindness, your compassion, your donations—this family has been able to stay afloat. For that, Cait and Mick are endlessly grateful.
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<div>But the road ahead is only getting harder.
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<div>Maddie’s beautiful new wig, which has given her so much confidence, cost $3,500. Her oncology team has warned the family that the next nine months will be extremely intense. Chemotherapy and radiation will become more aggressive. She will require round-the-clock care.
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<div>They have been instructed to remain within one hour of PCH at all times. Apart from the five days every fortnight that Maddie spends admitted for treatment, they have been told to expect sudden emergency visits—for fevers, infections, or blood transfusions—at any moment.
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<div>Please….. take a moment and imagine receiving all this news at once. Imagine being told your child and your partner both have cancer. Imagine trying to stay strong while your world collapses.
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<div>If you can donate, please—donate.
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<div>If you can’t, sharing this message is just as powerful.
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<div>If you would like to contribute an ongoing weekly amount toward Cait and Mick’s rent assistance fund, please reach out and I will provide details. These donations will go directly into their rental fund to help keep a roof over their heads during this impossible time.
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<div>If you have connections to larger organisations that may be able to provide rental assistance, fuel vouchers, food vouchers, or any other support, please contact me. Every act of generosity eases the immense burden this family is carrying.
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<div>We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to 96FM and 7News for reaching out. This most humble, down-to-earth, and<em> private</em> family has been given an incredible opportunity to share their heartbreaking story with the world. And of course, we are deeply grateful to GoFundMe, who have been exceptionally compassionate, considerate, and supportive during this extremely sensitive time.
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<div>Thank you for holding them in your hearts. Thank you for helping them breathe during the darkest chapter of their lives.
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<div>Rachel Ross
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<div>My beautiful niece, Maddie, one of my all-time most favourite humans in the whole wide world has been diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
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<div>Maddie and my daughter Abbie spend every single weekend together, whether at my house or Cait’s — they are inseparable, and their bond is something truly special.
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<div>And Maddie’s mum, Cait, is my little baby sister.
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<div>It’s absolutely devastating to see the sparkle in your sister’s eyes fade, to hear her voice crackle as she tries to fight back tears when she calls you from her car in the hospital car park to explain the latest feedback from the doctors.
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<div>To see the happiest, most carefree, loving person you know crushed under the weight of worry, fear, and exhaustion… it’s unbearable. And yet, even in the middle of all of this, she keeps going — for Maddie, for the boys, for our whole family.
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<div>For those of you who know Cait and Mick, you’ll know they are some of the most humble, honest, hilarious, and hardworking people you’ll ever meet — the kind who give everything they have and would never, <em>ever</em> dream of asking for a handout. But right now, facing months and months of travel, bills, rent, potential loss of income, and the chaos of raising three kids, they have no choice but to ask for help. Maddie’s fight is bigger than pride and worrying about how they are going to keep the rent paid is not a stress they deserve right now.
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<div>Doctors initially thought this was just a simple fracture, but unfortunately, it’s not. Ewing Sarcoma is here — and let’s be clear, it’s not welcome anywhere near my family and it won’t be staying long!. Maddie is an incredibly brave little girl who adores her family. She absolutely loves going to school and is highly academic. Although doctors have said she might be able to attend school on her recovery days, they've also explained that, in reality, she will likely feel too unwell to go. As a result of that, Maddie may miss an entire year of school, which is causing significant anxiety for her younger brothers, who depend on their big sister to walk them to school each day.
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<div>While we’re all scared, she’s staying strong, optimistic, and ready to kick this unwelcome visitor to the curb.
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<div>And yes, Maddie has already started planning for the fun stuff: she’s requested “Karen” and "Mullet" wigs, determined, that if she’s going to spend 5 days a fortnight in a hospital bed for the next SEVEN MONTHS, there will definitely be some laughs along the way.
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<div>Thank you to the army of warriors we already have behind us. Thank you for standing with Maddie, Cait, Mick, Will, and Leo through this.
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<div>If you can’t donate, please, just sharing this post is so valuable and means the world to us. Every little bit of support, love, and laughter helps Maddie . xx
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Standing with Mick and Maddie against cancer.

Standing with Mick and Maddie against cancer.

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