Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation – Lights for Kids
Nobody loves Christmas more than kids – the food, the decorations, the family get together, and, of course, the visit from Santa!
But for many kids, they’ll be spending Christmas in a ward, treatment room, or outreach centre instead of being at home surrounded by their family.
This festive season, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation is asking local families to participate in their annual Lights for Kids campaign by lighting up their homes to help give sick kids like Jamison the brightest Christmas possible.
Jamison was diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia when he was just nine years old – a rare disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells. Without these vital elements in his blood, Jamison faced life-threatening risks including infection, haemorrhage, or even organ failure.
Under the care of the expert team at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, it was determined the best option for Jamison was an urgent bone marrow transplant from a sibling donor. But they faced another problem: there was only a 25% chance Jamison’s older brother Lachie would be a match.
Thankfully 12-year-old Lachie was a match. “We’ll never forget the day the team told us Lachie was a match. The relief that he wouldn’t have to wait for the possibility of another donor coming along was overwhelming,” remembers Christie, Jamison’s mum.
In just a few short weeks, both boys were admitted for transplant, and Lachie gave Jamison the best gift any brother could – a chance at a happy, healthy childhood. As soon as the transplant was complete, the relief for the family of four was immense.
“We all stayed in hospital together that night, and the boys were allowed to see each other after Lachie woke up. It was a pretty special moment when we saw the bone marrow going into Jamison,” says Christie.
Thanks to his brave big brother, Jamison had the chance to return to the childhood that every kid deserves, one free of pain, worry and fear.
If you would like to help sick kids like Jamison, sign up for Lights for Kids, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation’s annual Christmas fundraising campaign. Lights for Kids sees people across NSW light up their home, business, workplace or school with festive lights to help raise vital funds for sick kids to help give them the brightest Christmas possible.
To register, please visit www.lightsforkids.org.au
