Emma Walsh and her family are getting back to normal...ish.
Take the sequence: Emma, who recently turned 14, rang the hospital bell in August. It is a symbolic gesture for young patients who have crossed the final threshold of intensive cancer treatment, have cleared their chemotherapy prescriptions, and have officially begun recovery. Ringing the bell is an emotional moment - there aren't many children who do.
Then, there is the charity she founded while in hospital, Emma's Warriors, which has been running for over a year, providing essential hospital kits for young people like her facing the hardest battle.
Then there is her schooling, which she balances with her recovery therapies. Emma has started Year 8, and her parents hope she will soon be strong enough for a full day of classes.
In the hurly-burly turn of charity days with local sports clubs, recovery, study, friends, family, home and the weight of that bell chime, it is hard to imagine there ever being a return to normal.
Emma and her family know there is no going back. But they are learning to love their new normal...ish.
"Life has been very busy," Emma's mum, Alex, said. "But we are really doing well, and we're so fortunate for that."
"Emma is almost two months off chemotherapy now, and she is doing well. These kids that go through it are pretty tough, and once you have been in that world, you realise what a gift it is to ring that bell. We're very lucky."
Emma was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia in 2022.
When she began treatment, spending countless nights in hospital, the cancer had affected eight in every 10 cells of her body.
There was a time when doctors feared she may have only weeks to live.
Emma was rushed into an aggressive and intense course of treatment involving chemotherapy, lumbar punches, bone marrow aspirations, and blood transfusions.
After more than 150 days in the hospital, Emma's body began responding to the treatment, and in December 2022, she was found to be medically clear of cancer.
Her extended stay exposed her and her family to the needs and comforts that hospital care often lacks.
Small things - a quality moisturiser for all the time you spend in air conditioning, your own towel, and a proper knife, fork and spoon to do away with the bamboo disposable kind.
The Walsh family saw a need and filled it; Emma pulled together backpacks of unexpected necessities for kids facing long hospital stays.
She called the project Emma's Warriors.
A year and a half later, as she returns to school, the charity foundation has cemented itself in the region and is now in talks with the Mater to extend its presence there.
"It's not until you're in hospital for a few weeks that you realise that you (need these things)," Mrs Walsh said. "To give that to someone at the start of the hospital stay is like giving them all the clues and items that they are going to want."
The effort has garnered grassroots support from corners across the city.
On Saturday morning, real estate agent and close friend of the Walsh family, Sam Budden, arranged a cross-country moto ride from Dudley to Nundle to support the cause.
The ride will muster at the Royal Crown Hotel at 7am on Saturday before riding largely off-road and across rough terrain to the Peel Inn at Nundle on Saturday night before returning Sunday.
Rider sponsors and donations for on-trip activities will be directed towards Emma's Warriors.
There are 25 riders setting off at the weekend, with plans for a welcome party on Sunday afternoon when the band returns.
"It's not an easy ride through the bush," Mrs Walsh said.
"But they say if these kids were doing it tough, they were going to make it a challenge."
- To support Emma's Warriors visit emmaswarriors.com.au
