Rory's Warriors

27/03/2026

Well it's been a big few days in Brisbane meeting some of Rory's new team at
Staying at the nearby short-term accommodation has made everything so much easier. It's a 6 hour drive from home but relatively easy thankfully.
Dr Tim Hassall and his nurse Brooke were lovely, engaging and sharing a joke with Rory. Giving me all the important contact details for anytime we need them. Scheduling in the next MRI (June), and making plans for other practitioners to get involved considering Rory's acquired brain injury and the impacts it has/will have on his development and education through the teenage years.
Was wonderful to have the opthamology team listen to my concerns about his vision, and diagnosing Rory with Cortical Vision Impairment (the eyes see but the brain struggles to interpret the info) 🙌
Lots of walking, lots of waiting 🙄 and a little bit of touristing 🤗

06/03/2026

Brain Injury Awareness Month

A result of Rory's innumerable brain tumors, 2 x brain surgeries and chemotherapy is an acquired brain injury. Invisible to see. But challenging to live with. Symptoms are wide and varied. In Rory we see:
Fatigue
Memory challenges
Balance disturbances
Vision Impairment
Difficulty planning and organising
Concentration problems
Emotional management
Mood swings and outbursts

All of this means we tread carefully, exert extreme patience and tolerance (or try to!) and make daily adaptations.

Remember - just because a person looks OK, doesn't mean they are ❤️

20/02/2026

Today we had an excellent, very comprehensive and educational meeting with the lovely Ebony - the Advisory Visiting Teacher and Consultant from the Statewide Vision Impairment Services for Central Queensland.
She outlined all of the assistance available for Rory and is hopefully going to coordinate an assessment in Brisbane to coincide with his first check up at in 5 weeks. They can actually assess for Visual Perception Disorders - which I have been mentioning to all of his team for at least 5 years! So fingers crossed 🤞

15/02/2026

Today is Childhood Cancer Awareness Day.
This isn't about shiny bald heads and kids with nasogastric tubes, it's about how it changes not only the child's life but the entire family's.
It's about:
*plans always changing at the last minute - even years after treatment has finished.
* that little fear about the cancer worsening that never goes away
* the other siblings not getting a fair go
* hospital appointments- the time, effort, cost and worry associated with them never end
* the permanent damage that cancer and its treatments have on the child
*the parent guilt that goes with letting your sick child get away with behaviours you would not normally accept
* the long-term affects on the parents' working hours
* the additional mental load and family administration associated with all the extra appointments: Doctors, scans, OTs, Speech, Psychology, Physio.....
* having to advocate for your child and their cancer cause all the time
*seeing your child in tears, angry and frustrated because they just want to be "normal", not the boy with brain cancer
Whilst a cure for all cancer feels a lifetime away, at least we can hope for better treatment, more research and a greater understanding 🙏

03/02/2026

https://apple.news/AevAkZ-DhTKGN6qoLSbPqXQ

Not applicable to Rory but some very exciting news in the fight against pediatric brain cancer!!

A world-first trial of a personalised vaccine for children with deadly brain cancers will be rolled out in eight hospitals throughout Australia later this year.

02/02/2026

So proud of Rory navigating a whole lot of new:
Timetables
A big new school
Finding classrooms
Making friends
Working independently
Riding 🚴‍♂️ to and from school each day

Hard to believe he's even here when he was diagnosed early in 4 year old kinder 🩵🧠

10/01/2026

Well what a big month it has been!!
Rory turned 12 on his last day of primary school 🎓 - hard to believe he was diagnosed age 4 in his kinder year 😲

4 days of driving 🚗 and seeing relatives on the way brought us to our new home in Tannum Sands (20min south of Gladstone, QLD 🌞).

A very quiet Christmas 🎄with rain, but otherwise a hot, sunny 3 weeks here with lots of relaxing, pool play 🏊‍♂️,beach walks 🏖, a visit to the Barramundi Hatchery 🐟 at Awoonga Dam, building and painting figures, (some) unpacking of boxes 📦, and making new friends in the street.

We've already heard from Rory's new care team at but no date yet for a visit (thankfully!!).

The love for Billy 🐕 and 🏎🏁 continues whilst Rory enjoys the last 2 weeks of holidays before his next chapter in Year 7 at .sands.state.high 💻🖋📝🏫

18/12/2025

There's been ALOT going on around here (but Rory doesn't want me to post or share too much):
We packed up and moved out of our house 🏠
Rory graduated primary school with a fabulous speech 🎓
He had his 6-month MRI and Oncology 🏥 - super stable and testing sooo well 🥳
Rory turned 12!!!🎂 which means 8 years of surviving and living with brain cancer 🧠
Tomorrow we hit the road 🚗 for our new life in Queensland 🌞

21/11/2025

Because Rory dislikes the cold so much, and he's as healthy as he has ever been, and he is about to transition from primary to high school..... we figured a move to Queensland was on the cards!
We will be heading off in about 4 weeks all ready for a new start in 2026 🏖🌊☀️ with all of Rory's medical care being transferred to

14/11/2025

05/11/2025

31/10/2025

Thank you for your humble acceptance and advocacy of this important cause.