Fund research and save on your taxes! Try our new tax calculator
For the McCabe’s, The Kids’ Cancer Project’s Bear program helped all of them through their toughest chapter. The famous plush toys brought rare smiles and joy while their youngest daughter, Charli, underwent cancer treatment, and have leant on the support from the charity’s donor community to see them through.
“Anything that makes a child smile in a dark time is special,” says dad, Pat.
“I know these Bears are special, because I’ve seen it.”
Charli was diagnosed with leukaemia while the quintet were on holidays. Within hours, they arrived at the Sydney Children’s Hospital, where they would remain for months on end.
Pat explains that it wasn't long until friends arrived.
“Three days later, a plush pal arrived in the form of Baby Activity Bear for Charli,” he says.
I’ll never forget the smile across her face. I can’t describe to you the feeling of relief I had seeing the real Charli return to us, even if it was just for a second.
The family had a few Bears donated to them during that time. Charli got another, but the other two McCabe children, Jack and Olivia, got them as well.
So often, siblings can be easily forgotten through all this when one child is undergoing treatment, when they’re going through a really hard time. While they aren’t the ones being treated, their lives have been flipped upside down.
Their Bears helped them to feel noticed and seen and to feel special. They put smiles on their faces as well, and they even help to fund research!
“Charli was helped directly by research The Kids' Cancer Project helped to fund. When chemotherapy wasn't working, her doctors changed her treatment — and I saw my daughter return to her usual self,” Pat says.
Charli’s now cancer free and happy and healthy. We're grateful to everyone who donated a Bear to us in that time.
“These Bears genuinely change a child’s day. They’re with them at every step of the journey and remain with them long after they leave the oncology ward. As I’ve also seen with my other children, it’s not just limited to kids with cancer. Their siblings benefit too.
“It’s the best way to deliver a moment of joy during times of unimaginable difficulty.”
Please donate a tax-deductible Bear to a child with cancer before 30 June.
