Gavin thought leukaemia was only a children’s cancer until the day his shock diagnosis completely changed his family forever.  

 In early 2019, Gavin and his wife Jen had just returned to their home in Bundaberg after travelling around Australia.  Their beautiful daughter Dusty has just started school.  

Life was good.  

“Work was going well for me, and my partner, Jen finally had the opportunity to go back to Uni,” said Gavin.    

Just like many of us might think, Gavin suspected he was simply working too hard when he became run down and struggled to shake a couple of infections.  

Jen encouraged Gavin to go to the GP to get checked out.  

Before he could catch his breath or make plans with the family, Gavin was flown straight to Brisbane from his family home in Bundaberg and was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). 

“It didn’t really mean much to me at that stage. I knew next to nothing about it,” admits Gavin.   

This is the moment support like yours comes alive. The moment just after his wife Jen and young daughter Dusty drive hundreds of kilometres to be by Gavin’s side, not knowing how long he’d be there or just where they could stay.  

“We connected with the Leukaemia Foundation and were offered a unit at the Patient Accommodation Village and lots of great information.   

“It blew me away what the foundation was providing for the people in our situation every day of the week.”   

After two full cycles of chemotherapy failed, Gavin was lucky to find a suitable bone marrow donor from the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.  

“There was no option B for me – if I didn’t get the transplant, I didn’t have a hope of surviving.”   

Gavin, Jen and Dusty continued to stay at the Leukaemia Foundation Village while he completed the 100-day recovery.   

Gavin and his family recently returned home to Bundaberg and slowly but surely, they’re returning to everyday life.