Leukaemia survivor Caroline Neal, her daughter Kristie and son Jarred will take part in the ‘World’s Greatest Shave’ to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation. 76815 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By ALESHA CAPONE
WHEN Caroline Neal was diagnosed with leukaemia, her youngest son Jarred was only two-and-a-half-years-old.
The Point Cook mother said her four children – Jarred, now aged nine, 11-year-old Kristie, Shawnee Louise, 14, and Adam, 18 – helped keep her positive during her recovery period.
“I said my children are my inspiration to survive this,” Ms Neal said.
The family will take part in ‘World’s Greatest Shave’ next month, to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation, under the team name ‘Caro’s Inspirations’.
Ms Neal, Adam and Kristie will dye their hair as part of the event, while Jarred plans to have his head shaved at Carranballac College, while 200 of his fellow pupils watch.
Ms Neal was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 1994.
“Mum was in hospital a lot and Dad used to take us to see her and we were really sad, but really happy to see Mum,” Kristie said.
“We need to find a cure for leukaemia so people don’t have to go what Mum went through.”
Luckily, Ms Neal has been in remission for six years now, after her brother Peter donated the bone marrow which saved her life.
“If I hadn’t had a transplant, there was a 50/50 chance I’d die, so it was lucky I had a bone marrow match,” Ms Neal said.
Before then, she went through eight rounds of chemotherapy and also radiation, losing her hair in the process.
“My best friend Donna Jack shaved her head, before my first round of chemotherapy,” Ms Neal said.
“I burst into tears and she said it’s only hair, it’ll grow back.”
Although she is in remission, the leukaemia has caused many illnesses in Ms Neal since 1994.
“I was 38-years-old when I was diagnosed, and since then I’ve had two skin cancers, a hip replacement, a blood clot and double cataract surgery,” she said.
The high steroid dose she was on to combat the leukaemia gave her diabetes and made her insulin dependent for two years.
However, the brave Mum said she felt “very happy and very lucky” to have survived leukaemia.
“You only hear about the bad things, no-one tells you about the survivors,” she said.
See www.worldsgreatestshave.com for more information.
