Picking positivity for Willy’s cancer fight

Turning a field of golden flowers into gold coin donations was made all the easier knowing the proceeds will go towards four-year-old William Boylett’s cancer care.

Kate Marshall from Waimea Nurseries says she was approached by local charity Bellyful with the idea of letting them pick and sell the sunflowers in their field to provide financial support for the Stoke family.

“Willy’s mum Sarah Kerby set up Bellyful in Nelson in 2018 to provide meals for families with sick children. The thought of her now being in a similar position is heartbreaking. She’s helped so many people in the community, we were pleased to be able to help her.”

Willy was diagnosed last month, after doctors discovered a 12cm tumor on his adrenal gland during an MRI scan.

Sarah says Willy had a fever while they were camping at the start of January and was complaining about sore legs. He'd also been quite tired, and not eating much.

“We took him to the doctor, and he was diagnosed with an autoinflammatory response in his legs, and told he'd come right in a week.”

However, the next week he was home with a cough, and the week after he was home with an ear infection.

“They sent us to A&E after our fourth trip to the GP, where an MRI showed a tumour, later diagnosed as a neuroblastoma. It had spread to his skull, left humerus, forearms, femora, lower legs, neck, hips, and sternum.”

The family flew to Christchurch Hospital a few days later to start aggressive treatment.

“I’m blown away at the generosity of Waimea Nurseries, and at the effort people are going to for my family. Sunflowers are one of my favourite flowers and have always bought me joy, so it was particularly touching.”

She says, at the moment, Willy's odds are about 50 per cent survival.

“We're throwing everything at it - six rounds of chemo, stem cell rescue, radiation, and surgery. The doctors have been clear that at this stage they are treating him with the goal of curing him into adulthood.”

Willy has just completed his first week of chemo, which he described as being “a bit spicy”.

“He had to stay in hospital for five days and became a bit of a pincushion,” says Sarah. “This week we are getting his stem cells ready for harvest, giving them the good stuff to increase their numbers before we pull them out next week to save for later.”

The family are spending most of their days at hospital having blood transfusions but go back to Ronald McDonald House at night, which is where they are staying for the next year while Willy undergoes treatment.

“It’s a great facility close to the hospital. With so many Covid cases in the community it's reassuring to know we have supported accommodation where everyone is taking extra precautions to stay safe.”

She says that the shock diagnosis has completely upended their lives and they are now spending most of their days in isolated wards.

“I haven't seen my other son Baillie in a month. He had his 9^th birthday without his mum or brother with him.”

And Willy has gone from being a sociable four-year-old to being a tired little lad covered in tubes.

“He's kept his sense of humour though.”

Sarah says the staff at the hospital have been amazing and thanks to the medication Willy is taking, he hasn't become nauseous.

“He was in a lot of pain from pressure inside his bones before chemo started, and that’s now gone away. Seeing that first lot of chemo go in was a huge milestone for us.”

Sarah and Willy’s dad Jake plan to tag team  - a week on and a week off in Christchurch.

“It's incredibly difficult to be away from William at all, but spending time in Nelson means we have a chance to work, and it means Baillie gets a chance to sleep in his own bed and have his mum take him to school.”

Volunteers, including Tracey Marvin from Bellyful, picked more than 1000 sunflowers for the fundraiser.

“The flowers would normally have got mulched into the soil, providing a nutrient rich base to grow apple trees on later in the year,” she says.

The ones picked were sold in local farm shops and raised $750.

A Givealittle page set up by a family friend has also amassed more than $20,000.

“It’s an enormous relief. Finding out your four-year-old has cancer, I was convinced I was going to lose my job and house with nothing left. Money issues are now one less thing to worry about.”

Thanks to the kindness of strangers, they family can take whatever time off they need to be with William.

“It will also cover things like having food delivered instead of taking him into the supermarket while he is immunocompromised and will cover flights to Christchurch.”

If you’d like to donate to Willy's journey, you can do so here.