By Gabriella Payne
We’ve all faced some tough times over the past couple of years, but Henry Jenkins and his family have been through more than most.
In August last year, the young Berwick family’s world was turned upside down when 5 year old Henry, a bright and bubbly boy, was diagnosed with Stage 5 Nephroblastoma (Wilms Tumour kidney cancer).
With the only sign that something was wrong being a sore and swollen tummy, Henry’s parents Jade and Adam had taken him to the doctor for a check up – and within 24 hours, he had been admitted to the Monash Children’s Hospital and his family were delivered the devastating news.
“We knew something quite serious was wrong [when Henry was rushed to hospital],“ Jade said, “but we never imagined cancer.
“It’s an insidious disease. One moment everything was fine and then it wasn’t. We were overcome by fear.“
As if the cancer diagnosis wasn’t enough to deal with, Henry was admitted to hospital during one of Melbourne’s strictest Covid lockdowns, meaning only one parent could be with him at a time.
Having two other young children at home, 3 year old Thomas and baby Samuel (who was just 4 months old at the time), Henry’s parents said they felt “split in two“.
“It was awful,“ Jade said.
“You couldn’t have your normal supports around you and couldn’t even have two parents in hospital with Henry at the one time.
“So it was difficult in that sense, because it was quite a lonely start to life at the hospital,“ she said.
As soon as he was admitted, Henry (who was 4 years old at the time) began 12 weeks of preoperative chemotherapy treatment before undergoing a nine-hour lifesaving operation to remove the tumours and parts of his kidneys.
After his surgery, Henry faced three weeks of radiotherapy with daily general anaesthetics, followed by another 34 gruelling weeks of chemotherapy – but despite all the painful procedures and difficult side effects, Henry kept battling on with the help of his family – and some other shining stars.
“For the first four months of Henry’s treatment, the Starlight Express Room was closed, but when they reopened, there was a real obvious shift in Henry,“ Jade explained.
“Simply getting him in the car to go to hospital was hard, because he knew there were painful procedures coming.
“But having that room to go to, it really changed our lives,“ she said.
“It brought happiness to something that was otherwise very scary and upsetting for him.“
Amid all the challenges and heartache, the Starlight Foundation was there with plenty of fun and laughter for Henry and his family, to help them cope with life in hospital.
Captain Starlight was there to help Henry throughout his ordeal, and his parents said they couldn’t thank the foundation enough for the work they had done.
“Captain Starlight helped raise Henry’s spirits and escape hospital life,“ Jade said.
“They do whatever they can to bring a smile to the sick kids faces’, so Henry did a lot of craft in their room.“
Constantly wanting to make clocks in craft time, Henry was quickly given the nickname “clock-man“ – a welcome distraction from his relentless treatments.
It was a long and difficult journey, but Henry and his family stayed strong and resilient throughout and now, the young battler is in remission and looking forward to starting his first year of school in 2022.
Jade and Adam said that without the help of the Starlight Foundation, Henry’s time in hospital would have been so much harder, and they encouraged people to think of donating to the charity this Christmas to help other kids in need.
“We have so many positive memories in hospital, despite Henry going through cancer and all the pain and procedures,“ Jade said.
“Starlight has been an absolute game-changer for Henry and our family making his entire cancer journey infinitely better. Words cannot accurately describe our gratitude.
“People should definitely support Starlight – they are just amazing and help pave the way for kids to cope better with really hard things.“
To help give the gift of happiness to sick kids and teens this festive season through the Starlight Christmas Appeal, visit starlight.org.au/Christmas
