Charlie’s Rainbow charity raises $70,000 for acute myeloid leukaemia research
A brave little boy who loved nothing more than going on Easter egg hunts – but died from cancer aged 3 – is the inspiration of a remarkable new charity.
Lifestyle
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Hunting for Easter eggs means more to this big brother than most six-year-olds, because it’s a reminder of the special times spent with his adored little brother, Charlie.
Sadly, Charlie died of acute myeloid leukaemia just days after his third birthday, after battling the disease for almost half his life, much of it spent in a hospital room.
Easter egg – or Freddo Frog – hunts became a way to take the little boy’s mind off his pain and treatments, no matter the time of the year.
“In 2020, Charlie was home for Easter and had the best time … he just wanted to have Easter egg hunts all the time,” mum Kelly Stevens said.
“We were always trying to make things fun for him … it breaks your heart seeing this child that is so lively and always willing to do anything you ask him to, in so much pain.
“He was always happy, no matter what was going on. He was just a bubbly, happy kid.”
Charlie was 17 months old when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
After six months of intensive chemotherapy he went into remission but relapsed five months later. Trial drugs and a bone-marrow transplant in Melbourne followed but ultimately the brave little boy couldn’t beat the disease.
Charlie got home to his “fire engine bed” for the last five days of his life – and to celebrate his third birthday, last January.
“I remember lying in his bed … I had tears streaming down my face and Charlie said, ‘Why are you crying, Mummy, is it because of me?’,” Mrs Stevens said.
“I said, ‘No sweetheart, it is the leukaemia, it’s the disease, it’s not you.
“He passed away … with us holding his hand, reading his favourite story and telling him how much we loved him, how proud of him we were and that it was now OK for him to rest.”
The remarkable family has set up a charity, Charlie’s Rainbow, which has so far raised more than $70,000 to fund paediatric cancer research at UniSA.
“This has been the most gut-wrenching journey … we don’t want any other child to go through what our Charlie boy, our rainbow unicorn, did,” the Belair hairdresser said.
Professor Richard D’Andrea, who heads up the research into relapse for children with AML said the financial contribution from Charlie’s Rainbow was significant.
“It (is) enough to support a researcher working on childhood AML, which will have a real impact on progress towards finding a cure,” he said.
For details of upcoming fundraisers go to the charity’s Facebook page, Charlie’s Rainbow – funding Paediatric AML Research. Or, donate directly at chuffed.org/project/charliesrainbow