Finally, a glow has been cast over our sobering past 10 months in Melbourne; and though we’re still on this road, with its harsh, rugged terrain, for a grim reason, the bumps have smoothed out a little, thanks to all of YOU...

What a memorable Easter weekend - one replete with incredulity and gratitude, as Seth and I came to realise just how much our various communities love and support us and our dear boy; no coincidence that it occurred at Easter, I’m sure. Your generous financial donations, kind words and prayers, particularly over the last week, have now enabled us to secure Ned's CAR T treatment in Seattle, and we'd like to humbly acknowledge each of YOU and the part you have played in him having another chance at beating cancer. We are beholden to each of you for whatever you’ve done - for any prayer you said, dollar you contributed, letter you wrote, social media post you shared...

We agreed to be a part of the RCH’s Good Friday Appeal last year, giving consent to a journalist and photographer following us for several months. Now, as we’ve just experienced the week that was - starting off with a poor bone marrow result (telling us Ned needed to get to Seattle as soon as possible, at exorbitant cost); and then ending with RCH’s Good Friday Appeal consequent media exposure, we see God’s hand in all of it - though we have at times berated His seeming absence. It is the combination of your selfless giving and the generous financial gift from an overseas donor, now confirmed, that will get Ned to Seattle for his treatment. There have been some misunderstandings along the way, and in the vein of maintaining full transparency, I do just want to clarify that the media exposure we’ve had has neither been sought out nor anticipated, and the large overseas donation is for medical costs only - the funds we raised here will certainly also be needed. Anything superfluous to our requirements will not be used for our own personal gain, especially given the dire lack of funding for cancer research, which is so close to our hearts. Our dear friends, Stelle and Glenn Carmichael, who set up the crowdfunding campaign and have stood by us every step of the way, will continue to help guide us and hold us accountable to this.

Now, as we pack up the 10 months of our Melbourne hospital life, and return the various borrowed items we've accrued, Ned has restarted some chemotherapy and the immunotherapy continuous infusion (in a backpack) to steady his disease progress until Seattle. We've had to begin the chorus of sad goodbyes to dear family, friends, and Lucy's school here in Melbourne; particularly difficult since these have been our network through such a dark, harrowing period. And between now and Seattle, we were permitted a few weeks in our Tasmanian home to "recharge", especially now the immediate stress of such an epic financial burden has been lifted... This was to begin on Sunday this week, however, in true Isham family style, I write this now from a hospital room, after a sleepless night, thanks to Ned’s freshly fractured shoulder (from an incident yesterday morning), a new infection, and a significant reaction to the immunotherapy drug overnight requiring hospital admission, forcing us to now postpone the booked returns till next week (hopefully).

For now, though, THANK YOU. So very much. Despite the grim reason this funding is needed, what an extraordinary demonstration of generosity and love, and so aptly timed for a weekend when we were celebrating the greatest gift of all, from the most sacrificial act of all.

Edward Isham