Incredible survival story of brave boy

Behind Charlie Shirran's cheeky smile, there is a story of immense courage and strength that most adults will never have to face.

You would not know that the three-year-old has been fighting for his life while he's sitting with his mother, Jo and Dr. Christa Bell, making ribbons today. Gold for the International Childhood Cancer Day, at the administrative office of the Emergency Department of the Gold Coast University Hospital (UGG). ).

Charlie's mother found a lump on the side of her head at the age of eight months and showed her husband, Dr. Mark Shirran, a consultant to the emergency department of the GCUH. This mbad had been the first sign of neuroblastoma.

"It was a happy and healthy baby, who had no problem, who had gone through all the steps, then at eight months, he woke up after a nap and I noticed a lump on the side of her head, "said Ms. Shirran.

Dr. Christa Bell, a pediatric emergency specialist, is not only a close friend of the family, she has also had the difficult task of announcing the news to the Shirrans – something that still moves her.

"I remember having received a text message from Mark, he had been anticipating that he was worried (about the size) … when they arrived (at the hospital) we had decided that the most appropriate was that Charlie had an MRI.

"I remember setting up what would have been his first IV (intravenous) and thinking it was a good solution, because this little man was heading for a trip with many IVs.

"I'm always moved talking, I remember that they went to see the radiologist and turned to the radiologist to say," My God, I do not know what it is, but this is not good ".

"I remember calling Mark and Jo and asking them to come see us in the radiology room … it was awful, Mark is a colleague and I think from that moment on, we have been connected.

"We said you could not do it yourself – the department came together – I was so pbadionate about it."

Ms. Shirran said it was the most difficult 18 months of their lives.

"We have started for 18 months the most horrible, toxic and cruel treatment you can imagine," she said.

"He had chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, stem cell transplants, immunotherapy that caused the most pain, and watching your child go through all of this was exhausting.

"You want to take all that away, but you can not."

Dr. Shirran said that it was hard not to think of all the statistics of the battle that Charlie had to lead.

"It was very, very difficult, nothing can prepare you for it, but being a doctor has its advantages, but also its disadvantages.

"It was hard not to dwell on the statistics, very scary statistics, of the risk of death.

"Thanks to my knowledge, training and experience, I was able to research and get in touch with neuroblastoma specialists located outside of Australia, as well as research the best available treatment. "

The family has frantically collected about $ 250,000 to bring Charlie to New York to provide a revolutionary vaccine to prevent a relapse. He received seven injections over 12 months.

"He's still going through regular rebadessment tests because neuroblastoma is a cancer with such a high relapse rate, which is why Mark did research on this vaccine in New York," Shirran said.

"They have found a way, hopefully, to avoid this relapse, but this solution is only available in New York, so we had to collect about $ 250,000 for the first time." get."

Ms. Shirran said that Charlie was fine now and was a happy young boy.

"We are extremely lucky, he is very noisy, happy, he is three years old." To look at him, you would not know that he went through all that.

"I'm grateful when it's annoying, when it absolutely makes my brain like a normal three year old, because two years ago, I did not know if it would happen."