Kelly needs you to deliver a bear to a friend in need this Christmas. This is why

During cancer treatment, there will be days on end where a parent doesn’t see their child smile. Relief is rare, but a bear often brings it, especially at Christmas.

Mileah Hennessy is the goofy little girl in the pictures you see. Her mum, Kelly, describes her  as the light of every room she walks into and the star of the show.

So when Kelly realised one day that she was limping, she was certain something was up, even  when the GP had said she’d just had a fall.  

“On the day of her scan, we didn’t even make it back to the car before we were called back into the doctor’s office with life-changing news,” Kelly recalls.

Mileah was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, with a large tumour located on her left knee. At two years old. A cancer so rare it’s usually only found in teenage boys.

“My world crumbled and I called my Dad in tears, trying to catch my breath. This perfect little human’s life had changed in an instant.”

After seeking additional opinions, we learnt about the rotationplasty – a procedure in which the knee is removed, the foot is rotated 180 degrees, and a prosthesis is fitted. We had to travel from Sydney to Melbourne to get it done because there was only one surgeon in the country who could do it.

Thankfully, it was successful. My little girl, my marvel, took it in her imperfect stride. She battled through her darkest moments, knowing treatment would fix her sick leg, no matter how hard it got.

Kelly says that what helped Mileah through were the toys that took her away from the hospital ward and into another world – just like the plush toys from The Kids’ Cancer Project!

Fast forward 12 months and Mileah has returned to daycare for the first time since her treatment, and this time it was Kelly who was crying – not the other way round. Her tumour was localised, meaning that it has been removed completely, and her scans and tests continue to improve.

“No child should ever have to go through what Mileah did.

I’d love to see people donate a bear for a child with cancer to pull out from under the tree, right when they need comfort most. For kids like mine, the gift of that plush toy is a friend for life, a reminder of how far they’ve come, a beacon of light in a dark oncology ward.”