Leanne was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer) in December
2003, she was aged 11 at the time.
It was quite a large tumor and it involved removing nearly all
of the tibia bone in her left leg and 8 months of chemotherapy and
putting a brace on her leg for 18 months and numerous operations. I
think we are up to about 20 operations so far, as well as quite a
few broken bones on the way.
For us Camp Quality is such a huge part of our life as we feel
so welcome at any event that is organised and all the staff have
been so supportive of us. It is such a welcome relief to go and
just have so much fun, we all know the reason we are there but it
is such a sanctuary that is so precious to us to meet so many
genuine real people that all want to enjoy life and never judge
you, and love our kids.
The reason we keep coming back I guess for us it keeps my
daughter positive and feeling that she is in control of her life to
always have something fun to look forward to. It's really important
when you are still going through such a long journey of medical
treatment.
Thank you for all you do
Helen Dave Tom Leanne Leach
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OMG the caravan was soooo good!! The kids had a ball and
didn't want to leave. It was the first time in Connor's life
that he was allowed to ride somewhere on his bike without us
following. It was our first family holiday
away somewhere since moving to Adelaide and words can't
explain what it meant and did for us as a family. We still cannot
believe how great it was and what a wonderful opportunity we had
thanks to the kindness that you show your families.
Thankyou so much and can't wait to do it again some time.
Vicki, Simon, Connor & Hayley Robertson
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Just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou for the weekend.
We really had a wonderful time and you. You guys do an
amazing job and Molly is very excited already. We have three
very tired little girls today but cant stop talking about such a
wonderful weekend. Swim with the tuna being the
highlight!!
Kristle, Darian, Issie, Liana and Molly xx
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Thandi was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia at
3 years of age in 2003.
As a family we were devastated about Thandi's diagnosis, it felt
like someone had just told us that our "perfect" little girl was
gone overnight. We also had the added pressure of having Thandi's
little brother Elliott, who was only 10 months old at the time.
Consequently, everyone but Mum and Dad brought up Elliott for the
next year as Thandi was very ill for the majority of the first two
years, even on the maintenance therapy.
I remember this period of time as just a whirlpool, not knowing
what the next minute would bring and not knowing if we I wanted to
know.
It was not long after, when Thandi turned 4 years old, that we
were introduced to Camp Quality and Thandi was allocated to her
first companion, Sonja. Thandi did some day excursions around
this time, which she enjoyed, but was having trouble separating
from Mum still. Through Sonja and Camp Quality's persistence and
unconditional support, Thandi managed to venture out and off to
camp with Sonja. This was a massive step for Thandi and her
first step towards self-empowerment.
After 14 months off of treatment, unfortunately Thandi relapsed.
She was now 6 years old.
About the same time, Thandi's first companion, Sonja, started a
job in Dubai. Thandi's next companion, Michelle soon picked
up where Sonja had left off. This time, Thandi continued to
go on camps even through intensive treatment where possible and
even managed to go on the big "Adventure Park Queensland Camp".
Thandi says that this camp was, "the best and most brilliant ever"
and did nothing but smile and laugh the whole time.
As a family we have enjoyed many experiences with Camp Quality
over the years and many of the volunteers and employees, and other
families have become some of our closest friends.
Sibling's camps have also been instrumental in providing Elliott
with a bit of "I'm special too" time; this has been priceless in
respect to his wellbeing.
We attribute Camp Quality with giving us, as a family, the first
inkling that life would and could go on for us and that whilst it
will probably always involve cancer or the ongoing concerns about
cancer, we can and will, still be happy. Thandi and Elliott deserve
to be happy, as "laughter really is the best medicine".
Thank you Camp Quality!
The Murada Family