What a way to bring 2 extraordinary boys together!
Cancer Warrior Isaac McInnes and swimming legend Thomas Pembroke.
In Dec 2017, at 12 years of age Isaac was diagnosed with an inoperable and rare brain tumour.
It all began Nov 2017 when Isaac started getting headaches & vomiting.
After 5 weeks of being sick and two visits to the GP after assuming he was suffering from anxiety from the end of year exams, he had lost almost 10kg.
On 3 Dec 2017, his parents Geraldine and Gary took him to Royal North Shore Hospital Emergency for dehydration.
An MRI the next morning on the 4 Dec 2017, showed the shocking results.
That afternoon he was transferred to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick by ambulance, where he has spent all of this year in and out of Hospital.
Treatment was initiated immediately in the new year and after 3 operations and a shunt inserted to reduce excess fluid on the brain (hydrocephalus) and 6 weeks of daily radiation/chemo, and 5 cycles of chemotherapy, and MRI in August showed the tumour had stopped responding. Chemo was ceased immediately.
Isaac is now on a new drug trial from Novartis and after recently undergoing yet another operation currently currently being rehabilitated to be able to walk on his own again.
Geraldine & Gary are now working with Isaac's Oncologist (Prof David Ziegler) and the Children’s Cancer Institute to understand in more detail the work in progress for directly impacting children’s brain cancer.
Tom’s Story -
Tom’s goal is to become the 1st Australian to swim the Ocean’s Seven.
The Ocean’s Seven is the marathon swimming equivalent to the globes highest seven summits. To date, at least 350 people have conquered the peaks, but only six swimmers in the world have completed the Ocean’s Seven.
So far, Tom has successfully swum SIX of the SEVEN; The English Channel (England to France, 34km)- once in 2013 and once in 2017, the North Channel (between Northern Ireland and Scotland, 36km) in 2015, the Ka’iwi Channel (Between the Islands of Molokai and Oahu in Hawaii, 42km) in 2016, the Catalina Island swim (between Catalina Island and the California coast line, 34km) in 2016, the Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco, 14.3km) in 2018 and the Tsugaru Strait (Japan 36km) in 2018.
With all of these swims, Tom has contributed to helping the wellbeing of 6 lives.
In December this year, when Tom completes the the Cook Strait (New Zealand), he will be both the first Australian ever and the youngest person ever to have completed all SEVEN!
Tom has kindly offered to dedicate his Cook Strait Swim to Isaac.
We need to raise $350k a year for 3 years ($1M over 3 years) – so we can get a dedicated team of 4 researchers at Children’s Cancer Institute to carry out direct research for a cure for kids brain cancer.
We are hoping that this will accelerate developments, improve the survival rate and directly help Isaac.
Once Tom heard about Isaac, he knew that he HAD to swim for the Extraordinary Isaac.
In Tom's word's "Isaac’s situation couldn’t be more fitting."
Tom knows this last swim will be no mean feat, with great whites and the water temperature among a number of challenges, Tom says "compared to what Isaac has been through, that is nothing, Issac will be what keeps me focused the whole time that I am in the water."
2 TRUE HEROES - ISAAC AND TOM!
Cancer Warrior Isaac McInnes and swimming legend Thomas Pembroke.
In Dec 2017, at 12 years of age Isaac was diagnosed with an inoperable and rare brain tumour.
It all began Nov 2017 when Isaac started getting headaches & vomiting.
After 5 weeks of being sick and two visits to the GP after assuming he was suffering from anxiety from the end of year exams, he had lost almost 10kg.
On 3 Dec 2017, his parents Geraldine and Gary took him to Royal North Shore Hospital Emergency for dehydration.
An MRI the next morning on the 4 Dec 2017, showed the shocking results.
That afternoon he was transferred to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick by ambulance, where he has spent all of this year in and out of Hospital.
Treatment was initiated immediately in the new year and after 3 operations and a shunt inserted to reduce excess fluid on the brain (hydrocephalus) and 6 weeks of daily radiation/chemo, and 5 cycles of chemotherapy, and MRI in August showed the tumour had stopped responding. Chemo was ceased immediately.
Isaac is now on a new drug trial from Novartis and after recently undergoing yet another operation currently currently being rehabilitated to be able to walk on his own again.
Geraldine & Gary are now working with Isaac's Oncologist (Prof David Ziegler) and the Children’s Cancer Institute to understand in more detail the work in progress for directly impacting children’s brain cancer.
Tom’s Story -
Tom’s goal is to become the 1st Australian to swim the Ocean’s Seven.
The Ocean’s Seven is the marathon swimming equivalent to the globes highest seven summits. To date, at least 350 people have conquered the peaks, but only six swimmers in the world have completed the Ocean’s Seven.
So far, Tom has successfully swum SIX of the SEVEN; The English Channel (England to France, 34km)- once in 2013 and once in 2017, the North Channel (between Northern Ireland and Scotland, 36km) in 2015, the Ka’iwi Channel (Between the Islands of Molokai and Oahu in Hawaii, 42km) in 2016, the Catalina Island swim (between Catalina Island and the California coast line, 34km) in 2016, the Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco, 14.3km) in 2018 and the Tsugaru Strait (Japan 36km) in 2018.
With all of these swims, Tom has contributed to helping the wellbeing of 6 lives.
In December this year, when Tom completes the the Cook Strait (New Zealand), he will be both the first Australian ever and the youngest person ever to have completed all SEVEN!
Tom has kindly offered to dedicate his Cook Strait Swim to Isaac.
We need to raise $350k a year for 3 years ($1M over 3 years) – so we can get a dedicated team of 4 researchers at Children’s Cancer Institute to carry out direct research for a cure for kids brain cancer.
We are hoping that this will accelerate developments, improve the survival rate and directly help Isaac.
Once Tom heard about Isaac, he knew that he HAD to swim for the Extraordinary Isaac.
In Tom's word's "Isaac’s situation couldn’t be more fitting."
Tom knows this last swim will be no mean feat, with great whites and the water temperature among a number of challenges, Tom says "compared to what Isaac has been through, that is nothing, Issac will be what keeps me focused the whole time that I am in the water."
2 TRUE HEROES - ISAAC AND TOM!
Organizer and beneficiary
Margie Knaap
Organizer
Haymarket, NSW
Anne Johnston
Beneficiary