From the hospital to home: The story of Paddy and his bear
2026-10-12
In Paddy’s bedroom, there is a superhero teddy that sits on his bookcase. He’s been there for years.
For Mum Kristy, that Bear represents Paddy's strength, his journey and the kindness of strangers who were thinking of their family during one of their hardest times.
When Paddy was eight months old, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour growing on his optic nerve. Suddenly, everything looked different for the Wallace family. They drove from their family farm near Wagga Wagga to Sydney for treatment, leaving their daughter Audrey with her grandparents, not knowing when they would be returning home.
As a mum, I can’t put into words what it feels like to sit beside your baby while they receive cancer treatment. It’s heartbreaking and, at times, incredibly isolating.
– Kristy, Paddy's mum
For months, they travelled 700 km for treatment, moving between Sydney and Wagga Wagga while Paddy went through chemotherapy. One day, a play therapist brought two Bears into Paddy's hospital room. One was for Paddy – a superhero Bear called Sammy. The other was for Audrey – a fairy Bear called Olivia.
"I was touched that someone, somewhere, had donated these bears for our children – people who didn’t know us but wanted to make difficult days a little brighter," Kristy recalls. "I remember helping him discover Sammy through touch – running his hands over his soft fur, tiny ears, cape and mask."
Audrey and Olivia became friends right away. "Her Bear made her feel special while Paddy was going through treatment and reminded her that she wasn’t alone," Kristy explained. "Audrey played with her bear constantly; it was a source of great company for her and was so well loved that it ended up with the stuffing coming out from wear and tear."
Kristy was amazed to see how much of a difference a bear could make. For her, it was the small acts of kindness, from those closest to her and strangers, that helped keep her going through some of their hardest times. "It’s the little things that say, 'We see you, and we care about you and your child', and the bear represented that for me," she says.
Paddy went through chemotherapy and was fortunate enough to access a successful immunotherapy clinical trial, but his journey didn’t end when treatment did. His cancer left him blind, and he continues to face other ongoing health challenges. Like many childhood cancer survivors, the Wallace family has had to adapt to the long-term impacts of cancer and treatment.
"We felt so grateful that we had treatment options for Paddy. We'd met a lot of parents that didn't have treatment options for their kids," she says. "Having access to that treatment and having researchers finding these options for our kids makes such a difference."
Nine years later, Sammy Superhero still sits on Paddy's bookcase. "Today Paddy is in a really good, happy and healthy place. He loves going to school with his friends, playing the drums and jumping on the trampoline with his siblings," Kristy says. "While you will never meet the family who receives the bear you donate, you will have given them a glimmer of love and kindness in their darkest time. And by donating, you also fund hope for better treatments and the chance to improve the lives of thousands of children and their families."
Paddy's bear still sits in his room – it is a symbol of his strength, his journey and the kindness of strangers. I like having it there in his room, even if he can't see it.
