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“You go from having a healthy kid one minute to the next being sick with stage 4 cancer,” - Mum Lauren recalling the shock diagnosis of her son Sonny. 

Your generous gift this Christmas will help children like Sonny in the fight of their lives.

This Christmas is a precious gift for Sonny and his family. On his 2nd birthday, he was running around with his twin sister laughing and playing, enjoying all the fun of a special celebration. 

Two days later, Sonny was in Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer that had spread to his lungs. 

As one of our generous supporters we know you share our vision of better, safer treatments for children with cancer. 

Sonny was born with one horseshoe-shaped kidney and had virtually no symptoms except for what looked like a blood stain in his nappy. It came as a huge shock for his parents to learn Sonny had a tumour on his kidney and the cancer had spread, with seven nodules found on his lungs. 

“It was a very scary time, it was one thing after another and we didn’t know if his kidney could even be saved,” said Sonny's mum, Lauren. 

With the cancer at stage 4, Sonny was put on an aggressive treatment program of intense chemotherapy, an eight-hour operation to remove half of his kidney and eight consecutive days of radiation targeting his abdomen – each session requiring a general anaesthetic that left him weakened and vomiting.  

Amid the heartbreak, Sonny’s family drew strength and hope from hearing the chime of the PCH end of treatment bell, marking another courageous child’s completion of a harrowing chapter in their life. 

“I remember this feeling that I can’t wait for him to be able to do that,” said Lauren. 

“To me, the bell signifies that we can have strength and these children can have strength when they need it most,” added Sonny’s dad Daniel, who stepped back from work to provide support during Sonny’s brave battle. 

Your gift to Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation this Christmas will fund world-leading research, equipment and expertise to improve cancer treatments and help more children like Sonny ring the end of treatment bell. 

Sonny’s journey was hard on the whole family, with his two older siblings and twin sister often separated during the long months of treatment.  

“It made me upset and it was just scary” said older sister, Siana. “I just really wanted to see him ring the bell and be finished."

After eight relentless months, Sonny’s family finally received the news they’d been longing for. 

“They gave us the good news, ‘your son’s healthy, we’ve managed to clear him’ – it’s the biggest relief in the world that you could ever imagine!” Daniel said.  

Ringing the end of treatment bell was emotional and joyous, signifying the beginning of a brighter future. Although Sonny will have regular ongoing reviews for the next five years, life is returning to normal and he’s back running, jumping and climbing on everything he can. 

As many families come together for Christmas, this year will be extra special as Sonny’s family treasure their time together and celebrate his good health. 

“It puts a lot into perspective that if you’ve got your health and you’ve got your family, that’s what’s truly important and life is as good as it gets,” Daniel added. 

Sonny’s third birthday in January will be another happy celebration. But the good news is tinged with uncertainty. Both Sonny’s grandad and great uncle have survived kidney cancer and tests show Sonny has a gene putting him at higher risk of a relapse. Long-term effects from the treatment itself are also a possibility.

Your generous gift today will bring us a step closer to finding safer, less toxic therapies for children like Sonny. 

“For the average person, just that little bit of generosity means the world to people that are in PCH living this life every day,” Lauren said. 

“These kids suffer enough and if there were more gentle, less invasive therapies that weren’t so harsh it would be a lot less stressful and what the kids really need.”  

Give the gift of hope this Christmas. Please donate today and help more children in the fight of their lives ring the bell, so they can get back to just being kids.

P.S. Your donation will make a world of difference to the kids with cancer and families spending Christmas at PCH. Please donate today.