What a year 2024 has been. A year described as ‘more in ‘24’, it showed off in ways we couldn’t have imagined! I want to take a step back this blog and see the entire year as a complete gift. And the best way to do that is like Spotify’s end-of-year highlights, ‘Murphy’s Miracle Wrapped’. A taste of the best bits, along with some fun ways to reflect on the year that’s been.
Miracles
I cannot start with anything else but to say, ‘our boy is cancer free!’. If you’ve followed from the start, you’ve ridden over 2 years of a rollercoaster that is Neuroblastoma treatment with us. ’24 saw the biggest Murphy Miracle, and that was the complete eradication of cancer cells in his body! September 2022 during diagnosis we were informed that the doctors stopped counting the number of cancer tumors in Murphy’s body, due to the number exceeding 1000. In Feb 2024, the doctors couldn’t count a single tumor. That was, and is, the miracle I want to hold onto and be reminded of every single day! Thank You God.
It would be remiss of me to not mention that 2024 didn’t just have a single miracle, because I know our God is far bigger than that and I’m sure you’ve had your share of miracles too! I’ve also learnt to not neglect seeing the little miracles along the way to the ‘big miracle’. When you begin to see miracles, (the world calls them coincidence or happenstance, urgh!?!) you begin to see them everywhere, Gods hand in every situation! How I end almost every day’s prayer is the simple phrase, ‘Thank You God for another day’; it is a miracle that we see a new day, every day, that our family is whole and healed, today is a gift from God.
As you continue to read, I’ll share the rest of what our family saw and experienced last year, and how I view them is through the lens of a Miracle working God.
Support
Second to God healing Murphy, the miracle of 2024 is the incredible support we received last year. Support from family, friends and even strangers, a community of people who have held our hand, delivered encouraging notes, sewed quilt patches, blessed us with gifts, offered time to help, cooked meals (or meal vouchers, which means Marco’s PIZZA for the Nowak’s ha-ha), provided us with cars, secured a rental in Charlotte, and the forever loving and heartfelt prayers of support. I’m speechless when I stop to think of the thousands of people near and far who linked arms with us and prayed for a miracle for Murphy. Speechless.
There was one significant miracle last year, and that was around the area of financial provision for our family. January 2024, I stood up and asked our closest friends and family for financial support, so that we could relocate and get life-saving treatment for Murphy in the USA. In a matter of weeks, friends and family donated more than $200,000 Aussie dollars. Again, leaving me speechless. The miracle part of it, was that it was gifted by the generosity of hundreds of people! I’m reminded how in Acts Chapter 4 states that the early church was without need because of people like Barnabas, well we saw the sacrifice of many Barnabas’ last year!
Treatment
DFMO. This is no ‘miracle drug’, but how I’m choosing to see it is that it is a miracle that we have made it this far across the world to access this drug. Only coming out as a phase 2 clinical trial medication, this breakthrough in cancer treatment (DFMO) will help provide more life for Murphy. God did the heavy lifting, and we give Him all the praise, and at the same time we are not sitting on our hands. Like any loving parent, you would go to the ends of the earth for your children, and that’s what we have literally done. Moving to Charlotte, Murphy has been able to access DFMO through a clinical trial (one that has now closed to new patients). Treatment has had its side-effects, but they pale into comparison to what 2023 frontline treatment had for Murphy, and he just handles it like all things he does, with a thumbs up and a smile.
For those who don’t know, this medication takes its form in Oral Chemotherapy tablets. Murphy’s on the highest possible dose available worldwide, 12 tablets-a-day, and we crush them and administer through his G-Tube. There are routine checks that Murphy has at Levine Children’s Hospital; blood/lab work, scans, hearing checks, medication monitoring, but ’24 saw Murphy live a pretty ‘normal life’ for a six-year-old!
Adelaide
Our home. More than a birthplace, Adelaide is a comforting place of: love, family, deep relationships and truck loads of memories. It hard to believe as little as 8 weeks were spent in this city in 2024, but a LOT was covered in those few weeks. Our family were sent off at the airport with over 40 family and friends, farewelling with hugs, gifts, letters and tears, we hold Adelaide close to our heart. A week doesn’t go by where our family mention the friendships we have with you back home. Adelaide was where we Murphy was declared in remission, and that was something I’ll be thanking God forever.
Charlotte
Our next miracle city, Charlotte. I’m so thankful for this city: the people, community, church, ballet and medical breakthroughs. It’s safe to say this smaller to mid-sized (3 million people) American city has been a true gift to our family. All our children have felt at home here, with meeting some wonderful people and enjoying all that it has to offer! The schooling around our area is second-to-none, with all children thriving in school, despite it being so different to home(Adelaide) and the schools they loved there, we have been blow away by how each of the children manage to navigate the change and all are so genuinely grateful to be here to be able to get Murphy the help he needs.
Not only have we experienced this state, North Carolina, we’ve driven and enjoyed many parts of the south! I should cheekily add, the BBQ is delicious, funnel cakes are heavenly, the Hornets are great to watch but need to start winning, the Panthers need to rebuild and get a new Quarter Back and the Kannapolis Cannonballers are underrated for family fun.
Holidays
I feel selfish even writing this, and the guilt of saying we’ve holidayed, but I’ll be open and honest. Living on the support of our generous community, I wrestle with using the means for niceties. However, it dawned on me the other week, as I reflected on everything and thinking of how our children are going, they are doing exceptionally well. Calista, Hugo, Teddy AND Murphy, look back over the towns we’ve lived in during treatment: Gympie, Brisbane, Adelaide and now Charlotte, all with fond memories. A miracle. And part of what has made that be, is that we have been gifted some amazing experiences throughout! Outings, playdates, sports games, vacations, road-trips and more. Recently my brother pointed out to me that we have shielded our kids from looking back on the worst of treatment because their memories go to all the HIGHLIGHTS first, and their memory stays there long enough they forget the lowlights. Amen to that, and so thankful.
Next week, Make-A-Wish
It is my hope next week I’ll write a separate post for this incredible experience that our family was gifted! Stay tuned.
Family visits
To end 2024, our home was filled with the joy and fun of having family visit from Australia. In November my parents came, and we drank coffees, drove to Kentucky to see the Ark, experienced Charlotte’s offerings and went to an NFL game and loved it even though the Panthers lost! Then after their departure, my brother and sister-in-law came and spent a week with us. The kids were all on winter break, which afforded us time to hang out and play a lot of games. We managed to also squeeze a trip to the mountains, an NBA game (Hornets lost), many fun trips to the American shops, Waffle House, lights at the speedway and much more.
2024, you were good to our family.
2025 I look to with great expectation.
Daniel
