Jackie Kent is taking on a fundraising challenge in memory of St Brendan’s College Yeppoon student Eli

‘I’ve been struggling mentally and physically’: Yeppoon mum speaks candidly about coping with the loss of her beloved son, and why she’s embarking on a personal crusade in his honour.

“Keep Eli and keep love in your hearts”.

That’s the motto Yeppoon mother Jackie Kent is living by as she embarks on a personal and very emotional crusade.

She is taking part in the Children’s Cancer Institute’s 86k for a Cure fundraiser in memory of her beautiful boy Eli.

His life was cruelly cut short by cancer on August 29 last year after he was initially diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in his right ankle in February 2020.

He was just 14.

Eli made an indelible impression on so many people and Jackie wants people to never forget that he lived.

That was a major driver in her signing up for the fundraiser, in which she will walk 86km throughout the month of March.

She let people know she had registered on her Facebook page on February 14, two years to the day that Eli had his first dose of chemotherapy.

Eli Kent, 14, lost his battle with cancer in August last year.

She clocked up her first 5km on Monday, six months to the day that Eli lost his life.

“I knew going into this year that I wanted to do something,” Jackie said.

“I’ve been struggling mentally and physically, just not really getting anywhere, just going in circles, not having anything to grab hold of.

“This came up on my feed and it was like Eli saying, ‘Mum, come on, this is it’.

“I do believe he is guiding me, and that’s pretty much where it stemmed from.

“When I read 86 kids a month in Australia are diagnosed with cancer, it’s just too much.

“I knew I had to do something to try to make some kind of difference.

“I’m doing this for Eli but I’m also walking for the families of those 86 children who will be diagnosed in March, and for those families that will be told this devastating news in the future.”

Jackie has been overwhelmed by the support she has received.

When she first posted about the fundraiser, she set a goal of $1000. That was surpassed within 24 hours.

She then upped her target to $3000, which was exceeded before she took her first steps.

“It’s given me something to focus on and to do,” she said.

“It’s something that honours Eli, which is hugely important to me and my family, but it’s also good for the soul and I’m raising money for a cause so close to my heart while I’m doing it.”

Jackie walked her second 5km leg on Tuesday with Jodie Tickle, a nurse who was onboard the Royal Flying Doctor Service flight that transported Eli to Brisbane for treatment after his initial diagnosis.

Jackie’s friend Annette Goody from Pinedesign Yeppoon has also designed a special logo carrying the words “Walking for Eli”, which will be printed on T-shirts that Jackie, husband Stu and daughter Ella will wear when they walk together.

“I am going to walk probably 5km five times a week,” Jackie said.

“I have had many people reaching out and offering to walk with me.

“I have arranged a day later in the month for the girls who set up the Rise for Eli Facebook page to do one together.”

Jackie said she, Stu and Ella were still struggling, trying to “navigate” their new life without Eli.

“We don’t class it as moving on, we’re just trying to live a life because that’s what Eli would have wanted,” she said.

“It’s hard and some days you just want to bury your head in the sand.

“I’m pretty tired by Friday because I feel that all week you’re doing things - and life does have to go on - but sometimes I’m just exhausted from putting my brave face on.

“I don’t want people to forget that Eli lived, and it’s clear that other people don’t want to forget him either.

“It has affected so many people and they’ve jumped on to help support us in any way they can.

“We’ve still got that support, which is amazing. We feel very much supported in the community, far and wide.”

Jackie said she found comfort and solace in Eli’s bedroom.

“Every morning I go in and open up his blinds and windows and say ‘Morning soldier’ and then I tell him what the day’s like,” she said.

Eli Kent touched so many people with his brave cancer battle.

“We have a little crystal light that shines in there 24/7 and that’s my go-to place.

“I often just go in and be with him. I can sense him everywhere but that’s a special place where I feel he is.

“He was happy, he had a really good life, and he was loved.

“That’s something we know - that he was happy and he was loved.

“Even when he was sick, he just wanted to live life and he wanted that for everyone else too.

“He used to say, ‘Mum, I wish people would just be happy, have good lives and do good things’.”

People can donate to Jackie fundraising efforts here.