- SUBSCRIBER: Angus 'hanging on to life with both hands'
It had been major surgery for the Southland physical education teacher, farmer and mother-of-three late in 2023 - and she still needed her sleep. Arriving at Christchurch Hospital with her desperately ill 10-year-old son, she did not care if she slept on the hospital floor.
But she and her husband, Cameron, had to be highly functioning in the days and weeks ahead as they faced a raft of hugely technical information surrounding their son’s condition and treatment.
There was no time for sitting around feeling tired or sorry for themselves - ‘‘and having a case of ‘why me?’ and ‘why us?’. It doesn’t make it any better or help anyone,’’ Mrs Grant said.
Turning up at nearby Ronald McDonald House that night, they were welcomed with warmth and given reassurance they would be looked after, and that feeling of relief - knowing they could focus on their son - would stay with them for the rest of their lives, she said.
The Grants are the Ronald McDonald House Charities New Zealand’s House to House 2026 hero family. The annual House to House challenge urged Kiwis to walk, run, swim or cycle this month to support families with a child in hospital.
The fundraiser was inspired by the journeys families made, travelling an average of more than 210km from home to stay closer to their child during life-saving treatment.
Their experience also heightened their awareness of how amazing the country’s health facilities were for children, Mrs Grant said.
‘‘I know, for adults, there’s a lot of really sad stories [but] we cannot fault the care we’ve had for Angus and I know, for children in New Zealand, the health system works really, really well.’’
The Children’s Haematology Oncology Centre at Christchurch Hospital - one of two specialist treatment centres for child cancer in New Zealand - was a ‘‘phenomenal facility’’ with highly-skilled staff, while at Starship Hospital there was ‘an unbelievable amount of care, empathy, respect and compassion’’.
When the Gore community rallied in support of the family, the Grants decided they wanted to give back to those organisations, which relied on fundraising, that had helped them.
That community goodwill meant donations totalling more than $168,000 were made to Christchurch and Southland Hospitals, Ronald McDonald House in Christchurch, Invercargill and Auckland, the Child Cancer Foundation, Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand and Life Flight New Zealand, in Angus’ name.
Now the family was supporting House to House, getting out together and clocking up the kilometres to support the cause that supported them.
Since Angus received his diagnosis, they had a greater appreciation for what they had.
‘‘As a family, you always think, ‘I need to appreciate what I’ve got’ but you can always do better,’’ Mrs Grant said.
That was not necessarily about buying more things or going on more holidays, but about spending quality time together. It was about putting devices down, sitting around the dinner table having a chat, going out on the farm or for a walk or bike ride together.
‘‘Just time spent being present, engaging with and enjoying each other’s company. I think when you get that opportunity taken away, through no fault of your own and out of your control, it makes it all the more special and important,’’ she said.
