When James and Madeleine Brown were married in 2016, guests assumed the groom was nervous on the big day.
“I felt very deteriorated, dizzy and tired, and everyone [thought it was me] working full time and wedding concerns, ”Brown said.
“When they took pictures of us, I was ruined and I really couldn’t stand it.”
After returning from their honeymoon 10 days into married life, the Helidon couple in south Queensland were found in a hospital for what they thought was an overdose of Ventolin affecting Mr Brown.
But the news was much worse.
“I had the highest white blood cell count I had ever seen at the base hospital,” he said.
“The doctor said, ‘I don’t know how you’re walking.’ So he was a little scared.”
The 28-year-old was told he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), something the couple had never heard of before.
James Brown while undergoing cancer treatment. (Supplied)
What followed was a year of intense treatment for Mr. Brown at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.
Patients go through intense treatment
For Mrs. Brown, what surprised her most was seeing children go through the same test as her husband.
“It was very intense for him, and then seeing kids around us going through the same intense treatment tests,” he said.
“They look exhausted. Their parents would be exhausted. The siblings would be absolutely devastated.”
She inspired Ms. Brown to prepare an activity box for children to help them escape the isolated experience of cancer treatment.
The box includes various activities such as coloring sheets and musical instruments for children to design.
“They can sit there while they’re in treatment … and immerse themselves in a colorful world of imagination, instead of looking around and just seeing a hospital,” Brown said.
Each box contains a number of activities, such as pencils and markers. (Supplied by: Madeleine Brown)
The moving selflessness
More than 350 children under the age of 14 are diagnosed with blood cancer each year in Australia, according to the Leukemia Foundation.
The foundation’s general manager, Tim Murphy, said Ms. Brown’s selflessness was touching.
“People like Madeleine are tremendous … we need them all over the country,” Murphy said.
He said activity boxes allowed children to be children while undergoing difficult treatments.
Mrs. Brown is handing out the boxes from her pocket. (ABC Southern Queensland: David Chen)
“It’s very boring … there’s not much they can do,” he said.
“So the work Madeleine is doing to help these kids with activity kits is really fantastic to get them away from the job of feeling bad.
“Kids aren’t used to being bad … it’s a real challenge to get them not to be active.”
Boxes provide “active learning”
Toowoomba’s mother, Karlie Ross, and her three-year-old daughter, Ellie, were offered a box while Ellie underwent treatment in Brisbane and Toowoomba for EVERYONE.
“[Ellie] I loved exploring the box and taking out each of the items, ”Ms Ross said.
“I was very excited to see the colors and spent a lot of time choosing the activities carefully.”
Ms Ross said the box had been a “lifesaver” in offering her daughter a break during the hour-long treatments, which Ellie had to undergo on average every fortnight.
“[The boxes] they are full of discoveries and they are active experiences, ”he said.
“I would much rather have my child participate in active learning experiences than passively look at their iPad screen.”
Mrs. Ross says the box has provided her daughter Ellie with a distraction while she was undergoing treatment. (Supplied)
Ms Ross said it was something she would like to see in regional hospitals.
“I just wanted to make them smile”
Ms Brown, who is funding the initiative out of pocket, said boxes had already been sent to local families and hoped to distribute more to make a difference in the lives of the children.
“They say … if your mood is high, then [recovery] it’s a lot easier, ”he said.
“I hope the day to day life improves their lives a little bit … I just wanted to make them smile.”
Brown has recovered from the disease after receiving a stem cell transplant at Royal Brisbane Hospital, where he continues to go for maintenance appointments.
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