The Knapman Family, Taranaki
When Sandy Knapman walked back through the entrance of Ronald McDonald House Auckland in August of ’07 after 12 years away it was with mixed emotions. Returning meant there was something gravely wrong with one of her children…
When her son Daniel first came to Auckland for treatment in 1995 the House consisted of just 10 beds. Since that time it has grown to 48 rooms in the House along with our Family Room — a 13 room emergency accommodation facility in Starship. Despite her reasons for returning, Sandy was blown away by the improvements to the House she found.
“It’s certainly not how I’d remembered it to look,” said Sandy. “The improved larger facility is just brilliant and it helps for sure.”
Mother-of-three Sandy Knapman and her husband Bruce thought they’d left their worst nightmare behind 12 years ago when after months of chemotherapy surgeons successfully removed a cancerous bladder tumor from their then 18-month-old son Daniel. He still needed on-going check-ups and medication, but aside from that an active Daniel was as normal as any other kid growing up alongside his brother Scott, now 15, and sister Courtney, 11, in New Plymouth.
Then one August night in 2007 Daniel — who had played down his discomfort for two days — walked into their bedroom wondering why he was having trouble peeing.
“I just thought, oh no, not again”, says Sandy. “You hope it’s not, but you get that gut feeling that it is the same thing. We were in absolute shock when they confirmed it. After five years we were told it wasn’t going to return, and after 10 years we thought no way.”
Daniel, 13, had to live with a catheter and bag for the first five weeks until his treatment restored normal bladder function. But the stubborn lump had taken its toll, on both brave Daniel and his parents. Aside from the inevitable hair loss from radiation therapy, Daniel also developed a crippling side-effect from a chemotherapy drug. He’s had difficulty breathing and temporarily lost feeling in his hands and feet, confining him to a wheelchair until movement returns.
Sandy and her husband Bruce stayed at the House for almost three months, along with Courtney, who continued with her studies at our on-site school. Sandy had quit a new job just eight days after moving to Auckland to be with Daniel and thankfully Bruce managed to find temporary work as a ‘sparky’ with an Auckland electrical company. Their older son Scott had shorter stays at the House as they juggled his schooling back in New Plymouth.
The Knapmans got home for a much needed Christmas break after the initial stretch of a ten and a half month treatment programme. The hope is that if Daniel continues to respond like he has, the tumour will shrink enough to safely remove.
While doctors have no answer for why the growth has returned in exactly the same place, this time Sandy is putting her faith in the new chemo and radiation regime as Daniel was too young for this 12 years ago. For the short term, the Knapmans are just hopeful that Daniel will at least gain movement back in his damaged limbs.
“I’m just grateful we have a facility like Ronald McDonald House here in Auckland,” says Sandy. “If we didn’t have it, it would be pretty hard to cope with something like this.”
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The RMH Auckland Trust funds and governs Ronald McDonald House Auckland (48 rooms) and the Ronald McDonald House Family Room (13 short stay critical care rooms) in Starship Hospital. It is a registered community charitable trust comprised of the following partners: Auckland District Health Board, Child Cancer Foundation, Heart Children, The Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland, Ronald McDonald House Charities and 2 community representatives. The House and Family Room provide a ‘home away from home’ for over 3,000 families of children with life-threatening illnesses each year. The Trust through its staff and partnerships actively fundraises throughout New Zealand to achieve the $2,300,000 p.a. it needs to run the facilities and support its families. Charity Registration number: CC23591