‘Huge year’ since ‘sassy’ son’s death
A YEAR after her son died from a brain tumour, Chevonne Marsh says her son’s ashes travel most places with her.
Mosgiel toddler Rylan Peterson was 21⁄2 when he died from a rare and fastgrowing brain tumour on August 4.
Since losing her ‘‘sassy’’ and ‘‘amazing’’ son, who loved cheeseburgers and hot dogs, she had continued to have a lifechanging year, Miss Marsh said.
‘‘It’s been a huge year, but it has gone pretty quick.’’
On January 28 she gave birth to Ruby Ry, a little girl she said Rylan predicted would be born and who has a shortened form of Rylan’s name as her middle name.
‘‘He said to me ‘there’s a baby in your tummy Mum’ and I said ‘no there’s not’, but he was right.’’
Before Rylan passed away she took a photo of him and his sister Meyah with a scan of Ruby, so while they did not meet in person he had seen his baby sister, Miss Marsh said.
‘‘When you become a mum, once that’s taken away you are so empty — so if I didn’t have Ruby, I don’t know where I would be.’’
She also credited her partner Callum Stringer for his ‘‘amazing support’’.
‘‘Our relationship would have been so different if Rylan had not got sick, but he was amazing — his support was amazing.
‘‘He was in Christchurch visiting Rylan every weekend.’’
Despite good support from some, she believed there was not enough awareness about childhood cancer in New Zealand.
Rylan died from an atypical teratoid rhabdoid brain tumour.
‘‘We are hear about kids in America and England dying but not in New Zealand.
‘‘It happens and it’s not something that should be swept under the carpet anymore.’’
The family encouraged people to continue to talk about Rylan, and she often took his ashes with her when the family left their home, she said.
In December, she and Mr Stringer bought a property and it was not only a home for them and their daughters but for Rylan too, Miss Marsh said.
‘‘He was a baby and I feel I need to keep doing things for him that he needed and he needed a home and now he has got one.’’
The family would mark the anniversary of Rylan’s death by going out for a meal and continuing to encourage people to talk about him and childhood cancer.
margot.taylor@odt.co.nz