Key Labor figure briefly steps away from campaign to welcome first baby with partner
The man behind Labor’s campaign has taken a brief break from the campaign trail over Easter amid exciting personal news.
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Anthony Albanese has offered his congratulations to his campaign boss and his partner after they welcomed a baby girl, Essie.
“It’s just wonderful news,” Mr Albanese said at Sydney’s Easter show today.
“Paul Erickson’s a dear friend of mine and Dimity is someone who is just remarkable.
“People who know Dimity’s story, she’s a breast cancer survivor, who’s an advocate, she’s just a wonderful human being, and I have been able to send them very warm congratulations, and I do so publicly today.”
Proving that he can juggle more than one major life event at once, the ALP campaign boss welcomed the baby girl in Canberra.
The national secretary of the federal Australian Labor Party, who also ran Mr Albanese’s successful 2022 campaign, took a brief break from the election over Easter to welcome his first child.
Mr Erickson’s partner Dimity Paul is the chief of staff to Sports Minister Annika Wells.
She is also a breast cancer campaigner and survivor and news of the couple’s pregnancy sparked joy in Labor ranks given her previous struggles with cancer.
The 38 year old has previously spoken out about how she knew she carried the Breast Cancer (BRCA) gene so she ensured she booked in to get a yearly MRI from an early age.
“Due to my mum having the gene, I decided to get tested early at 21,” she told Body+Soul.
“I was a bit of a control freak, so I wanted to be able to plan everything. I found knowing I had the gene was a bit of a weight on my shoulders, but it became the most powerful card up my sleeve.”
When she was 31 when the results came back positive for breast cancer.
“I had a PASH, a non-cancerous abnormality, the year before so when I had my MRI targeted biopsy in 2017 I really didn’t think it would be cancer.”
She was diagnosed with grade three triple negative breast cancer that had spread to one node.
“I wanted to know everything from the doctors and nurses. I am also really lucky that I have some friends and family members that are medical so they assisted me with understanding what type of cancer it was and what treatment options were available.
“I just said to the doctors that I would do whatever was needed.”
She underwent treatment, and “had a lumpectomy, chemo, a double mastectomy, a reconstruction and spent 12 months on the Breast Cancer Trials OlympiA drug trial.
“Seeing the treatments my mum went through in the 90s, breast cancer patients really have a much better time of it now. That’s down to more targeted treatments such as chemotherapy. The type of chemo I had came about because some brave patients before me put their hand up to do it,’ she explains.
“That’s why I said yes to the OlympiA drug trial. There is no treatment for triple negative breast cancer post mastectomy and chemo like there is for the hormone and HER2 positive cancers, so being part of finding one was a no-brainer. Plus, I had a 50 per cent chance of getting the drug in the double-blind study so there were only benefits for my survival outlook.”
“It was harder to manage as the anti-nausea meds that had worked so well through chemo weren’t compatible with the trial meds so we got creative and I took an anti-nausea that made me super sleepy in the evening. I used to be able to get by on six hours of sleep a night, but during chemo I needed 12 and the trial 10 hours.”
She said that her friends and family were by her side through it all. At the time, she was married to Labor Senator Raff Ciccone.
“They were my cheerleaders and facilitators. When I say I worked, it was only because my husband at the time did everything around the house and all I had to do was get myself up and dressed. My family and friends sent care packages, made quilts, took me to and from appointments, my sister stayed with me after every surgery and I was showered with flowers.”
“During chemo, my boss supported me to reduce my work travel, work reduced hours, take naps at lunchtime and my colleagues assisted me with my workload. Without work as a distraction, I think I would have been a mess.”
“Cancer changes everything, but for me it was for the better. My focus has changed. It is purely on living, taking every opportunity and dare I say ‘leaning in’ to the joy of being alive.”
Mr Erickson said Dimity had “done all the hard work” and both the baby and her mum are doing well.
“Our baby girl Essie was born in Canberra on Thursday afternoon,” the new dad told news.com.au
“Essie and her mum are both happy and healthy.”
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