'As parents, we would have done anything to help our daughter'

At 9 years old, Chloe was struck down with what her parents thought was just a cold. They didn't expect needing to step in to save her life. 

In June 2022, 9-year-old Chloe was struck down with what her parents thought was just a cold. But, a few hours and one hospital visit later turned her diagnosis into something far more serious - acute myeloid leukaemia.

Over the course of what would end up being two straight years in and out of hospital, filled with the highest highs and the lowest lows, both of Chloe’s parents had to step in to save her life.

Now, they’re trying to make sure no one has to go through the same thing.

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Image: Supplied.

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"Within two hours, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia"

According to Melissa Rodger, Chloe’s mum, all it took was two hours to take Chloe’s diagnosis from a simple cold, to an aggressive form of cancer.

“She’d had a few back-to-back viruses back in 2022, and we’d just come out of COVID, so it really wasn’t anything that we thought was abnormal for a child to have,” she told Kidspot.

“But, it just kept lingering. Then she got dehydrated, and the doctor sent us to the children’s hospital.

“Within two hours, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, and was moved up to ICU to begin her treatment.”

After first being diagnosed in June, the family was gearing up for Chloe to have a six-month stint in hospital for her first round of chemo. But, they were quickly hit with another complication.

“The first round of genetic testing showed that she had high-risk mutations, therefore she’d require a bone marrow transplant,” she said.

“That in itself was another shock. We certainly weren’t expecting that.”

With no other donor to be found, it was Melissa who stepped up to the plate. Thankfully, everything went really well, resulting in Chloe being able to go home by Christmas.

However, this wouldn’t be the end of their journey.

“It was a whirlwind, but it was quite easy compared to other people’s journeys that we were watching on the ward,” she said.

“But, unfortunately at the 12-month mark, Chloe relapsed, and began her next course of chemotherapy.”

Melissa noted that at this point in time, Chloe’s doctors were planning for her to have two rounds of chemotherapy, however she quickly got extremely unwell, resulting in her ending up in the ICU with respiratory failure - meaning she was put straight through to another transplant.

This time, Chloe’s dad Luke, a half match, was planned as the donor.

Image: Supplied.

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"We would have done anything to help our daughter"

Reflecting on their time spent in hospital, Melissa said that given the urgent need for donors for Chloe, she and Luke truly had no choice but to step in - with no one on the register globally that matched.

“There wasn’t really an option to wait. Acute myeloid leukaemia is very aggressive. The first time around, there was no one on the register that matched, so we were both tested. Usually it’s the father that gets picked, but Chloe and I had a few viruses that matched up, and they made me the donor,” she said.

“The second time around, they did search again, the world, but nothing on the register. They also tested my son and he wasn’t a match either, we had no choice. Acute myeloid leukaemia, if not treated, can be very deadly within a month or so.”

However, they wouldn’t have done it any differently.

“As parents, we would have done anything to help our daughter, and we’d never even heard of having a donor that’s a half match, so to have that option there, it meant to the world to us, because we had an option," she said.

“Obviously, I was a little bit disappointed after the first transplant. I felt like I wasn’t good enough. But, I reframed that - unfortunately dealing with cancer, it’s just aggressive, and it had nothing to do with me.

“To be able to utilise my husband’s blood to get her to that second transplant, it took a lot of pressure off, because we knew the first time that there weren’t any options for her.”

Image: Supplied.

"Chloe didn’t get that choice"

Now a few months cancer-free, Chloe has just gone off to Year 7 camp - a huge milestone for Melissa and Luke.

“We’re very grateful that she’s here, she’s healthy, and getting to be a normal kid,” she said.

In the meantime, the two are doing what they can to ensure kids like Chloe won’t have to go through what she did, by participating in the Children's Cancer Institute’s 86K for a Cure, fundraising for the 86 children who are diagnosed with cancer each month in Australia.

“There’s lots of amazing charities out there, but the one thing kids need is better treatments,” she said.

“Because of the transplant, Chloe won’t be able to have children, she’s had to have her eggs stored. They’re receiving treatment that is designed for a one-size-fits-all approach, and it’s for adults. These are young kids!”

As part of 86k for a Cure, participants are asked to walk 86kms throughout the month of March. After conquering this last year, Melissa and Luke have stepped it up (literally) for 2025, aiming to walk a whopping 172kms.

According to Melissa, the two are tackling it day by day - and have no plans of stopping.

“I’m just doing school drop off, then heading down to the Maribyrnong River and doing 8kms a day,” she said.

“My legs are sore, but I think to myself, Chloe didn’t get that choice, and she just kept showing up, and that’s what we’re doing, because it’s such an important cause!”

You can follow Melissa’s journey on Instagram at @anxiety_fightermum. For more information or to donate, visit 86Kforacure.org.au.

Originally published as 'As parents, we would have done anything to help our daughter'