Harper and her family find joy and community at Camp Quality programs

In August 2021, 15-month-old Harper’s life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with a rare malignant tumour.

After a small fall, her mum Julia took Harper to their GP. The doctor sent them to the hospital where she received days of invasive tests, multiple blood transfusions and helicopter transfers to three separate hospitals, while they worked through several uncertain diagnoses. Finally, Harpers medical team discovered a 7x7x8cm tumour.

Although the team initially believed the tumour to be benign, sadly after surgery to remove the tumour which resulted in her losing one ovary and a fallopian tube, they found that the lump was malignant.

“We were told that our baby girl had an incredibly rare malignant cancer – Sex Cord Stromal Tumour. Only 50 people under 18 worldwide have ever been reported to have this cancer,” says mum Julia.

Harpers parents struggled with her diagnosis. “There’s not much rational thinking that comes when you have just been told your baby has cancer. We cycled through disbelief, numbness, and tears on repeat – then when we arrived in Newcastle and were told of ‘the plan’, we switched to survival mode. We just had to be strong and hold Harper through her tears.”

After consulting international experts in this type of tumour, Harper’s paediatric oncologist told the family that Harper needed to undergo chemotherapy. Because of this, Harper and her parents had to say goodbye to Harpers older siblings and move to Newcastle so that they could be near treatment. During this time, her siblings lived with their grandparents.

For the next four months Harper went through four intensive rounds of chemo, multiple surgeries to insert and remove central lines, lost all her hair, had more scans than they could even count, painful dressing changes and more needles than any baby should need to endure.

Between treatments, Harper and her parents lived between John Hunter Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Newcastle.

In December 2021, Harper finished treatment and got to ring the bravery bell. “This was the best Christmas present we could have hoped for finding out she was in remission.”
While going through treatment, a social worker introduced the family to Camp Quality.

“Since completing Harper’s treatment we have been able to create so many beautiful family memories because of Camp Quality. We have enjoyed such fun Family Camps, Kids’ Camps and Virtual Camps. We are so grateful for all these memories that we have been able to share together!”

Harper is now five years old. She has regular scans to monitor her health but is in remission and thriving. Her family is looking forward to attending more Camp Quality events this year.