52 Lives

Life #23

Request: A mechanic / Donations / Day out

This week, 52 Lives is helping a 10 year old boy called Kybie Hutton and his mum Kerry, from Kurwongbah in Queensland, Australia.

I heard about Kybie a few months ago when someone posted his story on our page, and started following his Facebook group. But it was only after reading a recent post that I realised just how much his family has been going through.

Last November, Kybie was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour called a pineal germinoma. It has travelled down his spine and is also causing damage to the disc behind his eyes. Kybie has been having chemotherapy and radiation treatments at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane to try to shrink the tumour. The hope is that it becomes small enough to be operable, but he is not at that stage yet.

Kybie is being cared for solely by his mum, Kerry, who I recently found out is not well either. Kerry sadly also has cancer and has just had surgery to try to remove it. She had to stop working when she became ill and is now on a carer’s benefit. This remarkable woman is raising Kybie on her own and supporting him through this horrible disease, all while battling cancer herself.

What We Need

Together, Kerry and Kybie are facing the biggest challenge of their lives. Let’s show them they are not doing it alone. If you would like to help, this is what they need:

1. A panel beater to fix the rust in Kerry's car

Kerry and Kybie's treatments involve a lot of hospital visits and at the moment they are having to borrow a friend's car to get there. Kerry's own car is more than 30 years old and has some rust damage that they hope can be repaired. If anyone knows a panel beater in the Kurwongbah area that would be willing to help, please let us know.

2. Donations (towards car repairs, a second hand car or a petrol card)

Depending on the outcome of our first request, and what the family needs, any donations will be put towards either the cost of repairing Kerry’s car, a contribution to help her buy a second hand car, or we will buy a petrol card to help with the many trips to hospital.

3. A ride on a steam train – DONE!

This one we have managed to find already. After Kerry mentioned how much Kybie loves steam trains, we contacted the kind people at the Australian Railway Historical Society who have donated a special day out for the family at Rosewood Railway.

3. Tickets to SEALIFE Underwater World - DONE!

Thanks to the wonderful team at SEALIFE Underwater World and Merlin’s Magic Wand, who have always been very generous to us, we have arranged to send Kybie’s family on a VIP Day at SEALIFE Underwater World in Mooloolaba.

(NB: The donations are in Australian dollars this week. AU$1 is roughly 55p in GBP - you can check the exchange rate here www.xe.com)

What We Did

We bought them a car! Thanks to an amazing couple from Scotland, who wish to remain anonymous, we are able to buy Kerry and Kybie a car. It's simply amazing. And a big thank you also to the lovely people at Crick Auto Group, who are giving us a more expensive car than our budget allows for, plus a 6 year warranty.

We also received $190 in donations for Kerry and Kybie this week. Thanks so much to Joan and Rebecca, and all the anonymous donors.

And of course a final big thanks to the Australian Railway Historial Society and SEALIFE Underwater World, which are both donating wonderful days out for Kybie. He is so excited about both adventures and you have absolutely made his day.

A big thank you to the kind people at Crick Auto Group in Queensland, who have given Kerry a more expensive car than our budget allows for, as well as a 6 year warranty.