The insidiousness of cancer is not only the physical and mental toll of surviving treatment; it's the way that the disease tangles into every aspect of life.
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When the doctors finally found Emma Walsh's cancer - an acute form of leukemia - it had impacted more than eight in every 10 cells of her body. When her parents, Brendan and Alex, were called into their oncologist's office, their lives and the lives of their three children - Will, Isabelle and Emma - were irrevocably split between the years before the diagnosis, and the countless nights of hospital treatment that would come after.
When her cancer was finally diagnosed in July last year, specialists said she had only weeks to live. She was rushed into an aggressive and intense course of treatment involving chemotherapy, lumbar punches, bone marrow aspirations, and blood transfusions.
At one point, the high dose of steroids that were part of her treatment, robbed Emma of her movement. She was unable to pick up her phone, she couldn't hold a cup of water. Her treatment to save her life had taken such a toll on her body that she was forced into an extended hospital stay.
Her last weeks of Year 6, when she should have been celebrating finishing primary school with her friends, looking forward to starting high school, were spent in her hospital bed.
Birthdays, Mother's Day, family TV nights, were spent at John Hunter Hospital as Emma's family tried to salvage whatever sense of normality they could.
"The advice that we got from the oncologists was that the five of us would be in this together," Emma's dad, Brendan Walsh, said, "We decided early on that we would attack together as best we could and fight for every inch of normality that we could. But it takes over every aspect of your life ... every occasion that you can think of now became about adapting to our new life."
Will and Isabelle began missing long stretches of school fearing they could pick up a cold or some other bug that could devastate Emma's fragile immune system. Brendan and Alex were left unable to work as they faced every parent's waking nightmare while also trying to keep their home running and care for their children.
After more than 150 days in hospital, Emma's body began responding to the treatment, and in December was found to be medically clear of the cancer. Her intense treatment is likely to continue for at least the rest of the year, though, before months and potentially years of maintenance after that.
Through it all, Emma has fought back and now, even as she comes to the end of another four-week bout of intense high-dose treatment that leaves her body exhausted - she and her family are looking for ways to help other kids facing the same illness and trauma.
"Emma has faced things that no one should have to face," Mr Walsh said, "And she's not the only one. Thousands of people in our country go through this every year.
"She has been unbelievable. That's where the term "Warriors" came about - it's based on these kids and what they have to go through just to get their lives back."
Emma's Warriors is the charity she and her family have established to help kids and families facing extended hospital stays and treatment for serious illness. Emma has designed a hospital care kit specifically for young people around her age, filled with the things she knew she would need facing long nights away from home.
This weekend, the Lakes United Rugby League Club - which the Walsh family have been attached to for more than a decade - will run out in jerseys designed by Emma before auctioning them off at at a post-game hoorah on Saturday afternoon.
The proceeds from the sale, and from a family fun day at the Lakes home game against Central today at Cahill Oval, will be put entirely toward the charity in Emma's name.
"It's our small way of saying thank you," Mr Walsh said, "It's not about us, but about redistributing to those kids and families who need it most."
HOW TO SUPPORT EMMA'S WARRIORS
Lakes United take on Central Newcastle at 2pm at Cahill Oval Saturday, July 8, where Emma Walsh's family have arranged a family fun day to support the charity in her name.
All funds raised this weekend from the event, as well as Emma's jersey auction at the Belmont Hotel after the match, will be directed to the charity established to support other families facing extended hospital stays and intense treatment.
"I am a Warrior," Emma says, "I would like your support to help other Warriors just like me."
Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
