Austin’s Story
Austin is a member of Cancer Fund for Children’s Youth Advisory Group and he kindly shared his story with us. In his own words, Austin explains his cancer journey and how he has befitted from Cancer Fund for Children support.
“Hello! I’m Austin, I’m 14 years old. My favourite shoes are trainers, and I was diagnosed with A.L.L. (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia) in the summer of 2018.
Before being diagnosed with Leukaemia, I was always anxious and scared of life. I was scared of hospitals, lifts, etc. The lead up to my diagnosis I had felt tired, I was bruising easily, and just didn’t feel like myself. In other words I knew something was wrong. Then I was diagnosed. At first I was really frightened and in utter denial, after the shock I focused on staying alive. The treatment worked really well and was effective. However it did cause a few side affects. I spent over a month in ICU and had to learn how to walk again. Eventually the day came where I was discharged from hospital, but it had left me with physical and mental scars.
After the main phase of treatment had finished, life still wasn’t easy. However thanks to Cancer Fund For Children me and my family were able to go to Daisy Lodge and just chill out. I’ve also had many other experiences that I’ll never forget thanks to this charity. This period of time really helped us when nothing else could. The important thing to me is that I’ve made lots of friends through the charity, and have been able to talk about experiences in a light-hearted way.
A Mile In My Shoes would be difficult, I’d compare it to tight fitting shoes, hard to walk in, but not impossible to. Now it’s your turn. Walk a mile in my shoes to help young people affected by cancer to create happy memories”
Austin
You can join our Youth Advisory Group’s Mile In My Shoes challenge here: <link to event>