When James and Madeleine Brown married in 2016, guests assumed the groom was nervous on the big day.
"I felt really run-down and dizzy and fatigued, and everyone [thought it was me] working full time and wedding jitters," Mr Brown said.
After returning from their honeymoon 10 days into married life, the couple from Helidon in southern Queensland found themselves at a hospital for what they thought was a Ventolin overdose affecting Mr Brown.
But the news was much worse.
"I had the highest white blood cell count they'd seen at the base hospital ever," he said.
The 28-year-old was told he had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), something the pair had never heard of before.
What followed was a year of intense treatment for Mr Brown at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.
Patients go through intense treatment
For Ms Brown, what shocked her most was seeing children go through the same ordeal as her husband.
"It was so intense for him, and then seeing kids around us going through the same intense treatment trials," she said.
It inspired Ms Brown to put together a box of activities for children to help them escape the isolating experience of cancer treatment.
The box comes with various activities such as colouring-in sheets and musical instruments for children to design.
"They can sit there while they are in treatment … and they immerse themselves in a colourful world of imagination, instead of looking around them and just seeing a hospital," Ms Brown said.
Selflessness heartwarming
More than 350 children aged under 14 are diagnosed with blood cancers each year in Australia, according to the Leukaemia Foundation.
The foundation's general manager Tim Murphy said Ms Brown's selflessness was heartwarming.
He said the activity boxes allowed children to be children while undergoing challenging treatments.
"It's bloody boring … there's not much they can do," he said.
"So, the work that Madeleine is doing in helping these kids with activity kits is really fantastic to take their minds away from the drudgery of being unwell.
"Kids aren't used to being unwell … it's a real challenge to get them to not be active."
Boxes provide 'active learning'
Toowoomba mother Karlie Ross and her three-year-old daughter Ellie were offered a box while Ellie underwent treatment in Brisbane and Toowoomba for ALL.
"[Ellie] loved exploring the box and pulling out each of the items," Ms Ross said.
Ms Ross said the box had been a "lifesaver" by providing her daughter with a break during hours-long treatments — something which Ellie had to undergo on average every fortnight.
"[The boxes] are full of discovery, and they're active experiences," she said.
"I would much rather my child participate in active learning experiences than passively watch her iPad screen."
Ms Ross said it was something she would like to see across regional hospitals.
'Just wanted to make them smile'
Ms Brown, who funds the initiative out of her own pocket, said boxes had already been sent to local families, and she hoped to distribute more to make a difference in children's lives.
"They say … if your spirits are high, then [recovery] is so much easier," she said.
Mr Brown has recovered from the disease after he was given a stem cell transplant at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, where he continues to go for maintenance appointments.
