Meet Eamon a.k.a Batman: Ready to kick cancer's butt!
“Sometimes real superheroes live in the hearts of small children fighting big battles”
Meet Eamon Obst a.k.a Batman: a cheeky, smiley, three-year-old boy from Adelaide. After noticing some changes in Eamon over Easter (particularly dark urine that didn’t respond to drinking water), his family took him to the doctor. The doctor took action straight away and asked for a urine specimen and an ultrasound after finding a small lump on what she thought was his liver from an external examination. After further tests and scans Eamon was diagnosed with Wilms Tumour - a cancer of the kidney - which had spread to his lungs. Since the diagnosis, Eamon has undergone further surgery to investigate/remove the kidney, however it was found to be too large to take direct action. Eamon must now undergo 6 rounds of chemotherapy in an attempt to shrink the tumour in order for surgeons to be able to remove the problem kidney. Eamon will also undergo radiation therapy on his stomach and quite possibly his lungs depending on the responsiveness to chemo.
As with most people who hear of stories like this, I immediately felt compelled to help. I sent an email to Hayley from Adelady (who had shared Eamon’s story as she knows the family) suggesting I design a custom set of milestone cards to document his brave journey to kicking cancers butt! Within minutes she had replied with some extra inspiration and the idea was underway. I spent that weekend perfecting a set of 16 superhero-themed cards that Eamon and his family can use to celebrate the battles Eamon overcomes throughout his cancer journey. It was different to anything I’d done before, so I of course questioned whether it was good enough. But I sent a proof through to Hayley and her response (happy tears) was the justification I needed. Off to the printer they went, and in the meantime I did some work to involve Eamon’s love of the Adelaide Crows in this project. I won’t go into details of how, but I was able to get Taylor Walker (AFC captain) to write a little message to Eamon on the back of the ‘crows’ milestone card. Hayley sent them to the Obst family and I received a beautiful message of thanks from Eamon’s Mum Kathy. I was also lucky enough to meet her by chance at the Lollipop Markets on the weekend, and while it tore me apart to see how ‘real’ this is (happening to a down to earth family just like yours and mine), I was absolutely blown away by her strength.
24/05/17 - Eamon with his custom 'I smashed my tests today' milestone card - Round 4 of chemo & his blood results are really positive for this stage of treatment! Smashing it!
In the upcoming months, I will be sharing some photos and updates on Batman and his fearless battle against evil. Obviously, this is going to be an extremely difficult time for his family, who also have a 16-week-old baby girl. But don't you worry, Eamon is going to kick cancer's butt!
A friend of theirs has set up a “go fund me” page to help the family with costs associated with hospital visits, as well as enable Eamon’s parents to focus their time and energy on caring for Eamon and his little sister rather than stressing about the burden of bills that keep piling up. Any support, big or small, is greatly appreciated. Head to this link to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/3p7gl60
For the month of June, I will be donating $5 from every Miracle Mumma sale to the Obst family. If you have been waiting to purchase a scrapbook or donate milestone cards to a hospital, now is the time! You will be supporting an amazing cause...and it will make you feel amazing at the same time!
You can follow Eamon’s journey more closely via this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/397550437294550/
In the meantime, here is a photo of the milestone cards:
