Climb gets personal
Gutsy firefighter tackles 1103 steps for son
WHEN volunteer firefighter Elaine Alexander made the gruelling climb up 51 flights of Auckland’s Sky Tower for a cancer charity, she carried a photograph of her son Declan.
The plucky Te Atatu firefighter was ‘‘stoked’’ to make it up the 1103 Sky Tower steps in 30 minutes.
But Elaine knew her gutsy effort still paled in comparison to her brave teen, who battled for his life after a blood cancer scare last August.
‘‘If Declan can go through what he’s been through, then half an hour of climbing is just a bit of hard work,’’ she said of her punishing training schedule, before the climb.
Declan, 15, had initially gone into hospital for appendicitis. Three months later and 20 kilograms lighter, he was released home.
An aggressive virus took hold of his body while his immune system was weakened from what his family later found out was T cell lymphoma.
‘‘I wasn’t sure what happening,’’ Elaine said.
Declan’s lungs were damaged by the virus and he had to be administered oxygen from a
was machine. His heart also weakened, requiring the delicate procedure of being attached to a blood purifier.
‘‘And that wasn’t without risks. He had to go on blood thinners with the risk that he could suffer a bleed on the brain,’’ Elaine said.
Declan was under an induced coma for six weeks to give his body time to recover.
The typically active teen had to spend two weeks retraining his muscles so he could walk. At times he couldn’t even stand up in the shower.
At several points, Elaine won- dered whether she would lose her son.
‘‘We were so in shock by the time we heard he had cancer.’’
Elaine has long supported charities such as the recipients of yesterday’s Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge – Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.
She first donned her 25kg firefighting gear and breathing apparatus to puff up the Sky Tower in 2010.
Completing yesterday’s challenge had a whole new meaning for her.
‘‘I did these things not knowing that I would need that support one day. I never knew it would be my turn.’’
While he is in remission, Declan has seven years to go before he can officially be given the ‘‘all clear’’.
And after six months off school, he is back skateboarding with his mates.
Much of his strength, and his hair, has returned. But he’s still coming to terms with what happened to him.
‘‘I freaked out when I saw pictures of how skinny I was.’’