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A Waikato family has won their fight by staying together at the bedside of their seriously ill daughter in an Australian hospital.
The twist comes after the family was faced with leaving their daughter behind to take her place in an isolation facility to return to New Zealand.
Jackie Diprose has been with her 12-year-old daughter, Kate, at Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital since September.
Kate had been undergoing specialized cancer treatment when the side effects produced severe neurotoxicity and she is currently unable to move, speak or see.
His left lung also collapsed and he had a blood infection, and he was being treated in intensive care.
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Fletch and Marc keep an eye on Kate at Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital on Christmas Day.
In December, Jackie arranged for Kate’s father Marc, brother Fletch and sister Jessie to travel from New Zealand to be with her at the hospital.
They applied for an emergency assignment to fill places in a quarantine facility for their return to New Zealand on December 30.
But Jackie had wanted the family to stay together for a couple more weeks, when Kate was expected to show positive signs of recovery.
Initially, Managed Isolation and Quarantine of New Zealand had rejected his request for a second emergency assignment request. [MIQ].
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The Diprose Family: Jessie, Mom Jackie, Fletch, and Dad Marc at Melbourne Hospital on December 25.
“We were only hoping to extend it a few weeks, when we would learn more about Kate’s condition, right now she is so fragile.
“If they (Marc and the two brothers) are in New Zealand and something goes wrong with Kate, they won’t be able to come out of isolation and come back for two weeks.”
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Jackie agreed that time was running out and it looked like Marc, Jessie and Fletch would be flying home on Wednesday.
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Jackie Diprose with Fletch and Kate in a photo taken in 2018.
But on Tuesday afternoon, MIQ, under the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, issued a statement saying that it had reviewed the case and that a new emergency assignment had been granted in “extraordinary circumstances.”
The ministry said the person who evaluated the second request was unaware of the family’s situation and their first request. Without that crucial information, you didn’t meet the approval criteria.
“On behalf of MBIE we wish the family the best and we apologize for any additional stress incurred as part of this process.
“We have requested a review of the case to minimize the possibility of this happening again.”
Earlier Tuesday, Jackie said that having the entire family in the hospital was a big part of Kate’s recovery.
“A doctor once asked her what the only thing I could do to make him feel better and she said to bring my family.”
Kate was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was three years old and has relapsed five times in the past 9.5 years.
He has been to Melbourne hospital for CAR T cell therapy.
“They extract the T cells from the blood and send them to the United States, where they are genetically modified to attack a protein in the B cells, that’s what has killed Kate’s cancer.
“Kate doesn’t have cancer, but the side effects, for Kate, which are 1 to 400, are neurotoxicity.”
Kate entered specialty treatment after Starship Children’s Hospital “got the ball rolling” and connected with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which used T-cell therapy.
Starship began talking to specialists in Philadelphia and doctors in Melbourne, they decided that Kate was a good candidate for therapy.
“We needed the approval of the [Ministry of Health] High-cost funding pool that pays for specialty treatment; otherwise, we would have to pay for it ourselves. “
Jackie said she was grateful the funds were approved and arrangements were made to relocate Kate to Melbourne, amid the state of Victoria’s Covid-19 alert levels.
Treatment could not be performed in New Zealand.
Kate’s outlook was positive, Jackie said, but it could be six to eight weeks before she could fly home due to her collapsed lung.
“If the lung stays the same, it will be a healthy flight home. Our hope is that we see improvements and can take a normal flight home. “
The family had stayed in an apartment near the Melbourne hospital.
“My husband and I have taken turns being with Kate. Spending time with the other two children has been very therapeutic.
“We have a ping-pong table that is used a lot and it makes us laugh a lot and they say that laughter is good medicine.
“You can spend too much time reflecting on things, that is not beneficial. We are just looking forward and working towards an end goal. “
Jackie said the family was overwhelmed by the support from the hospital staff and messages of support from home.
The family’s Christian faith had also helped them through difficult times.
“We know that it is no small thing that we are here, we are really grateful to the health systems of New Zealand and Australia, for giving us this option.
“For everyone in Matamata, where we are from, we feel loved and very grateful.”
