Franklin digs deep for Grayson
after Grayson was covered in raised purplish-black bruises after tumbling from his bike, and a sore on his cheek would not stop bleeding. Swann took him to the doctor, who requested blood tests immediately. That night, on August 2, he was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Since then he has undergone two spinal taps, nine sessions of chemotherapy, six bone marrow tests and has a multitude of medicines he takes daily.
Swann said the saving grace was how many people within the Franklin community had helped so far, especially since her oneyear-old Izabella began having seizures in July.
‘‘It gives us hope that there’s still a lot of people out there that can help you in your desperate need, that when something like this does happen, that people are there for you. Even if they don’t know you, they will back you and wish you well. We’ve had some amazing support - I love Waiuku for that, I love this community.
‘‘I want to say a very heartfelt thank you to everybody that’s helped, because it’s a really hard time in our lives at the moment. It’s not treatment for the next couple of months, it’s years of treatment, so I’ve been grateful for every dollar that’s been donated because that’s an ease off our back.’’
Swann said she also had friends doing school runs for the older girls and looking after Izabella for her when she needed to tend to Grayson.
‘‘The hardest part in all honesty is having to rely on friends for help because that is just not me’’
She said Grayson’s leukaemia has been a wake up call to appreciate her children’s health.
‘‘When the words came out of the doctor’s mouth, I wanted to cry, but I was numb. I couldn’t fathom that my child could be that sick. I wanted to cry, but there was just no tears.
‘‘It’s horrible to think that you can be living a normal life and then you get thrown a huge curve ball...I guess everybody takes advantage of their kids being healthy and I’ll never take advantage of that again.
A givealittle page has been up, givealittle.co.nz/cause/ support4grayson