My name is Sam, and I'm the proud mum of Jett, my beautiful son who was diagnosed with cancer at just 13 years old.
In 2022, Jett took a flight to Queensland with his grandmother to visit his uncle. But our world changed forever when Jett suddenly went blind coming off the plane.
I was working at the time, and received a call that Jett was being airlifted to hospital.
They said Jett had a large mass in his brain, which was what caused him to go blind. They didn't know if he would survive the flight.
I screamed as I slid down the wall, not knowing how I could say goodbye to my son over the phone. It was one of the worst moments of my life.
Thankfully Jett survived the flight, and underwent two 12 hour brain surgeries. Doctors removed the cyst which caused the damage to the optical nerve as well as the large melon-sized tumour. But he would never recover his sight.
What followed was seven weeks of daily radiation, and 170 rounds of double chemotherapy. As part of a trial, Jett drank his chemotherapy to see if it would reach beyond the brain barrier.
Doctors said Jett's cancer would return quickly and he may not survive more than a few months. But thanks to cancer treatments made possible through the support of people like you, Jett is still alive and cancer free today - over three years later.
Despite everything his young body has been through, Jett still shows up with remarkable strength and faces each treatment with bravery and a positive attitude.
He's back at school, now navigating life as a blind teenager. Jett inspires everyone around him, including the medical teams who continue to care for him.
Last year, he even joined me at at our friends' Australia's Biggest Morning Tea to help support other people impacted by cancer.
By signing up to host a Biggest Morning Tea, you'll help fund cancer research and support services that are so important to families like ours.
I'll be back at Australia's Biggest Morning Tea again this year, raising funds for cancer research that could save the lives of more children like Jett. I hope you'll host your own morning tea too! Please register today.
Sam (Jett's mum).
