Together: Lori Perry with mum Chaylee Perry and dad Simon Perry. Kids cancer charity My Room has provided accommodation in Melbourne for the Nagambie family while Lori receives treatment, allowing the family to be together as much as possible.
Nagambie resident Lori Perry is one tough cookie.
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In 2014, at two years old, she was diagnosed with Wilms’ tumour, a type of kidney cancer in children that soon spread to her lungs.
Lori underwent 12 months of treatment and entered remission.
The five-year mark for remission was a milestone the family had eagerly anticipated.
“We thought we were home and hosed,” mum Chaylee Perry said.
“But in December last year, she started getting back and side pain shooting down her legs. We persisted in going to the local GP. She had an ultrasound and they couldn’t find anything.”
The pain worsened and on March 13 the family travelled to the emergency room at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. Within 24 hours, Lori and her parents found out a tumour had returned.
“You can just imagine our world fell apart. We didn’t know what we would do or how we would do it,” Mrs Perry said.
“To go through it once was bad enough.”
Lori began four rounds of intensive chemotherapy, followed by surgery. Friends and family rallied around the Perrys as their lives changed overnight. Lori would not return home to visit until June.
“We had to base ourselves out of Melbourne because the treatment was so intensive. Because Nagambie is two hours away, it was just going to be impossible,” Mrs Perry said.
Brave: Lori Perry will be the face of the 2023 Footy Show Grand Final Eve My Room Telethon.
My Room Children’s Cancer Charity stepped in to provide accommodation in Brighton for the Perry family while Lori underwent treatment, making trips to the hospital easier.
“My Room has saved our butt, pretty much,” Mrs Perry said.
“My Room has allowed us to be a family and be together. If we didn’t have the house, we wouldn’t have been able to be together and be under one roof.”
Lori is the eldest of four siblings. She is accompanied by Lani, 9, Lenni, 5, and Loui, 2.
When Lori was well enough during her treatment, her siblings could come and live in the house in Melbourne.
Mrs Perry said the positive effect on Lori when her siblings visited was plain to see.
“Being with siblings, it just changes her mood. She’s a different kid when they are there,” Mrs Perry said.
With one more round of radiation therapy left, Lori is nearing the end of her treatment and eagerly awaiting her return home to Nagambie.
“She’s so strong, she keeps me strong,” Mrs Perry said.
The final day of Lori’s radiation treatment coincides with the Footy Show Grand Final Eve My Room Telethon on Friday, September 29.
Lori is the face of this year’s telethon and her family will attend in person.
Having experienced first-hand the support of My Room, the Perrys are eager to support the charity in any way they can.
“They are amazing. We can’t say thank you enough really for what My Room has done for our family,” Mrs Perry said.
“Just knowing they are one call away, even for the little things, the offer that they are there is in the back of our minds.
“Give generously, help other families out … any little bit helps.
“To have that support and a roof over your head at one of the worst times of your life, thank you is not enough. But you don’t know what else to say.”
Lori looks forward to returning to school, rejoining her friends and playing netball again. Next year, she will start high school.
Mrs Perry said her family was eager to adjust back to life in Nagambie.
“That little bit of normality is beautiful — sun out, kids in the backyard, cooking a barbecue,” Mrs Perry said.
The Sunday Footy Show Grand Final Eve My Room Telethon will be broadcast on Channel 9 and 9Now at 7.30pm on Friday September 29.
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