MONSTER DREAM
LITTLE Issabella Jones, 5, has ticked off one monster item on her bucket list.
Despite being given less than 12 months to live after a brain cancer diagnosis, she was all smiles as she got a behind-the-scenes tour of a monster truck.
LESS than three months after writing it, little Issabella Jones has completed one of the last things on her bucket list.
Two months ago fiveyear-old Issabella was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and given just 12 months to live.
This week she and her little sister Amelia, 2, got a behind-the-scenes look at the monster trucks which will star in this weekend’s Gold Coast Car Show, one of the things she was keen to give a go.
While a ride around the showground was a bit much for Issabella, mum and dad Troy and Renee Jones were happy to watch as their daughters climbed in and out of the huge trucks.
After Issabella’s diagnosis her parents asked her to write a bucket list of everything she’d like to do, something which first captured hearts around the Gold Coast in mid-July.
While the big ticket items are slowly being ticked off, most of the list is made up of simple pleasures like playing on the beach, going to the movies with mum and going bowling with dad.
The monster truck excitement proved a bittersweet moment for both parents.
“There’s a lot on the bucket list now she’s ticked off but it’s just a sad scenario that some of the things she does a few days later she forgets all about it,” Mr Jones said. “We’ve got tickets to go whale watching this weekend, she’s been to SeaWorld and played with the dolphins.
“Most of the things on her bucket list have been done, there are people who say her bucket list is too short.”
Issabella was initially diagnosed with a 15cm aggressive brain tumour, which grew another 4cm in less than three weeks.
The five-year-old now struggles with anger, seizures and a feeling of “bleeding” in her head, something Mr Jones explained as her feeling the tumour spreading.
“She doesn’t understand why she’s angry, she doesn’t understand why she’s sick, we try to tell her she’s got a weed growing in her head,” he said.
“It’s a magical moment knowing she’s achieved something most kids her age haven’t achieved today, she’s had the fun of sitting in a monster truck. It’s all about her having fun and making her feel good.”
Last month she met Queensland Police for a ride in the Volunteer Marine Rescue Boat, and was taken on a motorcycle ride with The Social Club.
She’s due to start chemotherapy in two weeks time.