Christmas is a time for goodwill and hope, and this year’s Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation (PCHF) Christmas Appeal will help spread hope to families with children fighting cancer.
For these families, hope gets them through the dark and difficult moments; hope that one day it will be their child ringing the end of treatment bell at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), marking the end of challenging chapter.
This year’s Appeal is raising awareness and vital funds for kids with cancer – the kids who have rung the bell, the kids who hope to, and those who, heartbreakingly, may never have the chance.
The PCHF Appeal will fund groundbreaking cancer initiatives in WA including world-leading research, cutting-edge equipment and the very best cancer care to help more children like Sonny Curulli ring the end of treatment bell.
Earlier this year, Sonny was running around with his twin sister enjoying all the fun of their second birthday celebration.
Two days later, he was in PCH diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer that had spread to his lungs.
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.
His mother, Lauren Curulli said they were told 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,” Mrs Curulli said.
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 anesthetic 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.
After eight relentless months, Sonny’s family finally received the news they’d been longing for. Sonny’s father, Daniel Curulli, said it came as a huge relief.
“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!” Mr Curulli said.
Ringing the end of treatment bell was emotional and joyous for the whole family and signified 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.
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,” Mr Curulli added.
PCHF is calling on the community to give the gift of hope this Christmas.
“For the average person, just that little bit of generosity means the world to people that are in PCH living this life every day,” Mrs Curulli explained.
“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.”
To help more children in the fight of their lives and spread hope this Christmas https://pchf.org.au/donate
