‘Braveheart’

By Paul Dunlop
BRAVE twoyearold Charlie Redding is locked in a battle with cancer and his home town is doing all it can to help him win the fight of his life.
Caring residents have rallied to support the family of the Garfield youngster diagnosed earlier this year with Hepatoblastoma, a rare cancerous tumour that originates in the liver.
Charlie’s condition sparked a tumultuous and heartwrenching time for parents Paul and Ally and their other two children Lucy, 9, and Max, 6, who has autism.
As well as having to deal with the stress of helping their youngest son undergo chemotherapy and other treatments at the Royal Children’s Hospital, the Reddings must try and maintain a normal life at home.
Mr Redding said they coped by trying to find “something good” in every day.
The Reddings have been overwhelmed by the generosity and support they have received from the community.
People have made meals, cared for the children and provided all kinds of support for mum and dad everything from a free massage, or an invitation for a cup of tea to donations of money and groceries.
Fundraisers are also being organised to help cover the cost of Charlie’s cancer fight.
“It’s been amazing, so many people have asked us if there was anything they could do,” Mrs Redding said.
“It’s been the worst time of our lives in many ways, but the help and goodwill we have received from everybody from family, friends and neighbours, people we have never met, has been fantastic.”
Garfield’s primary school and kindergarten, sporting clubs and local businesses have all got behind the Reddings.
On the day the Gazette visited, somebody had left an anonymous letter of support in the Reddings’ mailbox. Inside the envelope was a cheque for $500.
The Reddings learnt in January on Friday the 13th that Charlie had cancer. Not surprisingly, Mrs Redding said at first she could not believe it.
“I was in shock, I cried for the rest of the day. It was almost incomprehensible, words can’t describe it,” she said.
A gentle and loving little boy, Charlie has had to spend four days in hospital every two weeks to receive a series of chemotherapy treatments to shrink the tumour.
Soon he will have surgery to remove the cancer from his liver followed by further chemotherapy.
All going well, it could be over in a few months.
But there are no guarantees, and even at best it may be five years before doctors can declare Charlie cured.
“You’ve got to be positive, focus on every day and get something good out of that,” Mrs Redding said. “We are trying to be as normal as we can in an environment that is just so not normal.”
The Reddings are determined not to let their fears for Charlie’s future cloud their thinking and have been buoyed by his positive response to treatment so far.
Mrs Redding said that, while they hoped with all their hearts that their brave little boy would beat the cancer, they have tried to stay focused on the ‘here and now’ rather than looking too far ahead.
“It’s unbelievable how quickly you can get used to something,” Mrs Redding said.
During their regular visits to hospital, the Reddings have been moved and inspired by the bravery and good cheer shown by other young children and their families facing similar situations.
“There is always someone worse off than yourself, in many ways, we feel really lucky. We are just hoping and praying, and we thank everyone else who is doing the same.”
* Further details of communitybased efforts to support the Redding family will be published in the Gazette.