A Brave Girl's Wisdom: Accept Things And Enjoy Life
The Age
Friday September 10, 1999
Julia Vianello is not like most children. She's 10 but she rattles off medical terms like haematology and oncology. She knows the names of drugs that journalists can't spell - and you don't find behind the chemist's counter.
It's not just her childhood precocity: Julia is in remission after a second bout of leukaemia.
Unlike most of her classmates, Julia counts it an achievement to go to school. ``This year I've made a lot of days," she boasts. ``But I missed 50 days last year and the year before I missed 82."
Yesterday, after speeches by seasoned public speakers such as the former racing car champion Peter Brock, Julia gave a talk to launch the newly formed Leukaemia Foundation of Victoria.
The 100 or so guests were, by all appearances, bowled over.
Two years ago Julia was apparently in remission from leukaemia, which was diagnosed when she was 22 months. Then she started acting grumpy and tired. ``I felt everything was wrong," she remembers. ``It felt different."
Her parents, Susy and Robert, took her to the GP who recommended further tests at the Royal Children's Hospital.
After a week-long round of tests and consultations, the specialists confirmed Julia had leukaemia again. It was a stressful time for the family, recalls Mr Vianello, who became Julia's primary carer while her mother worked full time.
``It really changes your life," he said. ``You have a different perspective when you have a child who could potentially die ... you have different priorities."
Julia, who is due to finish chemotherapy in November, also talks with un-childlike candor about her situation. ``I try not to think about bad things" she says. ``You learn to accept things and enjoy life more."
Julia's six-year-old brother, Daniel, she suspects, found it hard to cope. He's never talked about the illness much but he drew a lot of get-well cards and visited nearly every day when she was in hospital.
Now that she's feeling better, Julia takes a child's delight in doing things she couldn't do when she was in ``hard-chemo".
Her hair has grown back (``it's a shorter bob than before") and she can ride a bike. Best of all, there's the royal show to look forward to.
© 1999 The Age
Share This