Last week was Ethan’s first week at kindy.
Starting kindy has been a major long term goal for all of those involved in Ethan’s treatment and recovery. For kids with any type of cancer and particularly those with brain cancer, becoming well enough and (staying well for long enough) to start kindy is not something you take for granted.
Ethan has a place in an education support classroom at our local primary school. There are only a handful of kids in the class and they are all well supported by a teacher and several aides. The classroom is specially tailored to cater for their needs with an ensuite bathroom and kitchen. The curriculum is amazing – apart from covering the essential skils like writing, reading and mathematics, Ethan will enjoy activities such as cooking class, swimming lessons and gymnastics.
The first day was a bit tough for Ethan – he had Boris by his side, but he was a bit teary and unsettled on his first ever day apart from Mum and Dad. Still, he did get excited to participate in some activities and we hear he did some excellent painting at the easel. The second day was a lot better – he was a lot more settled and did very well sitting at his desk and partcipating in the activities on offer.
The hardest part for Shannon was watching him go at drop off…the hardest part for me was seeing his little face at pick up and tearing up as he wrapped his little arms around me!
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the team at PMH (particularly oncology and speech therapy) and Ethan’s therapists at both Fremantle Child Development Services and Rocky Bay for all their help with preparing Ethan and completing a massive amount of assessments and paperwork to make it all possible.
We would also like to say thank you to our family and friends for their love and support on the journey so far. We are so thrilled to share this milestone with you all.
And lastly a little word for those incredibly dedicated doctors, nurses and therapists who cared for Ethan when he was really sick, without whom Ethan would never have got this far…please keep doing what you are doing. Sometimes you must feel like it’s a losing battle, but you are making a difference. And we are eternally grateful – please enjoy this moment with us xxx

