Country comforts
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday August 15, 2009
A family's upheaval was made less traumatic thanks to a supportive network, writes Jackson Board. When Ross Macdonald was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in April last year, the realities of living away from the big smoke hit home.While many small communities can now enjoy the same services and opportunities as their city counterparts, rural living is a world away when it comes to serious medical treatment.Ross, 30, his wife Kelly and their eight-year-old twin girls, who live just outside Orange, had their lives thrown into uncertainty in an instant when what had appeared to be a severe back injury was confirmed as something far more dire."It's C, mate ... cancer."Those words from Ross's doctor resulted in a daunting dislocation for the family. He would require extensive chemotherapy in Sydney and would leave behind his job, his girls and any resemblance of a normal life."We'd never heard of myeloma," Ross says. "We knew about leukaemia but I thought it was just a tumour on my spine; they'd cut it out and we'd be on our way."Myeloma is a disease that attacks bone marrow and though the treatment process would take much longer than Ross expected, the optimism he and his family showed during the toughest months never faltered.It was a sense of hope that Kelly says was all thanks to the Leukaemia Foundation and the endless help it gave.While Ross underwent treatment, Kelly was provided with an accommodation unit nearby, as well as transport, living needs and emotional support free of charge or judgement. "Being from the country, we had to leave everything," Kelly says."These people come to you and don't expect anything in return. They provided absolutely everything for us. I have no words for it."The couple says one of the toughest challenges was not seeing the girls, who were being cared for by Kelly's mother more than 300 kilometres away, for long periods.When Ross was finally able to walk after being bedridden for months, the family was again reunited in the Leukaemia Foundation apartment in Sydney."We were all together in the unit; to have the girls there in the flat was like being on holiday," Ross says. "We could be a family and just get into bed together and cuddle. Not having that for so long, the girls had grown, had new teeth missing. You miss so much."After a successful stem-cell transplant and overwhelming positive results from a trial medication called Velcade, Ross is in remission and back working. The same, however, cannot be said for many people the Macdonalds came to know during their time in hospital.They are adamant that without the foundation, many more lives would be lost."Fair enough you're sick, you have a disease that can or may kill you but it's quite a relief to know you have support," Ross says. "Your doctor worries about your disease, the Leukaemia Foundation worries about your family €“ all you have to do is worry about getting better. I'm happy and alive now, what more can you ask for?"
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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