Thandi Murada was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
at 3 years of age in July 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 Visic. 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 Scicluna 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" last year, thanks to the great efforts and
generosity of Peta Matthews and her "Darwin to Adelaide for the fun
of it" team.
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. We have
been to several camps at Narnu Farm, the Monarto Zoo and Flotilla
for Kids, as well as countless camps for Thandi and also Elliott
(sibling camps) and tons of one-day adventures.
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!