Mum set to honour her son
Gayle to speak at Light the Night
JODY Daetz was only 23 when he died of leukaemia.
For the past 19 years mum Gayle has been volunteering and raising funds for the Leukaemia Foundation in his honour.
She said she estimated she had raised $400,000 for the charity in that time.
“They supported us when we needed them,” she said.
“Jody was diagnosed when he was in Year 12, in March 1993 and because we lived (in the Lockyer Valley) we had to drive to Brisbane a lot.
“We didn’t know about the Leukaemia Foundation back then, but in 1997 when he had to have a bone marrow transfer they were there for us.
“We lived at their village for five months.”
Ms Daetz said Jody was very much a people person and always looked out for other people going through leukaemia, even during his treatments. He died on May 10, 1999.
“It took me six months to decide what I was going to do and what he would want me to do,” she said.
She started fundraising for the foundation, launching a new branch in the Lockyer Valley.
Ms Daetz will be in Toowoomba tomorrow for the Light the Night vigil in Queens Park, where she’ll speak about the significance of the gold lanterns.
“They represent the people who have died of a blood disease,” she said.
For more information visit lightthenight.org.au.