Ringing the bell to signal the end of his cancer treatment, surrounded by family and friends, Bayley smiled shyly.
Behind that sweet smile, only those who have walked the long road to recovery alongside him could truly appreciate his strength and determination.
Dad, Jamie and Mum Teresa, described those events: “Three-and-a-half years ago, our lives got turned upside down when Bayley was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
“Before he was diagnosed, Bayley had been complaining of aches and pains, particularly in his legs. He had been having night sweats and generally he looked very run down. After spiking a fever, we took him to our local hospital – 23 hours later we were a long way from home when Bayley was admitted to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.
“While the following days are a blur, we do remember being told that our son had Leukaemia, that the treatment was three-and-a-half years, and that we would be in Brisbane for a minimum of six months. Our reaction was, ‘How the hell are we going to be able to do this, particularly so far from our home, 1,800km away in the Atherton Tablelands’?
“Well, now we can say we made it. We ended up being in Brisbane for nine months of intensive treatment. During this time we observed the most amazing strength, determination, stubbornness and willpower of our six-year-old.
“And we are very proud to call him our son and our superhero.
“We came home and Bayley continued on maintenance treatment for a further three years. This had its own challenges as we tried to live our ‘new normal life’, and not be over-protective as well.
“During this time Bayley was taking oral chemotherapy tablets daily, IV chemotherapy monthly and every three months we would head to Brisbane for LP/IT Chemo at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. We have had our moments but we got there.
“Moving onto the next stage, Bayley will be closely monitored for a number of years.
“The Oncology Department at Queensland Children’s Hospital has a ‘Ringing Out’ bell for children who have completed treatment. Bayley has seen numerous kids ring this bell so it was wonderful to see him do it as well, and with so much happiness!
“When Bayley rang the bell we were filled with so much emotion that comes with a long journey. It is with great relief and gratitude that we can say we have made it to the end of treatment, particularly when we know so many who have not been as fortunate.”
Bayley’s parents, twin brothers, grandmother, aunties and uncles, the principal from his local Malanda State School and staff members from many departments of the hospital attended the bell ringing on Tuesday 18 July, 2017.
Hear the wonderful words of Bayley’s school principal, Mark Allen, who surprised Bayley by travelling to Brisbane to attend the bell-ringing, and watch Bayley ringing the bell at the hospital on Vimeo.
