They prayed for a miracle, but yesterday the family of Braiden Peters-Whitwell received the devastating news that there is nothing more doctors can do to save his life.
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Four-year-old Braiden yesterday underwent a biopsy at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead to determine the type of tumour on his brain.
And the biopsy returned the worst possible news, with doctors confirming the tumour is a full diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma [DIPG].
“They are not going to operate,” Braiden’s great aunt Jenny Wonnocott said, who, along with the rest of Braiden’s family, was by his bedside at Westmead yesterday.
Fighting back tears, Mrs Wonnocott said Braiden’s condition had continued to deteriorate over the past 24 hours.
She said he would now begin six weeks of radiation treatment at Westmead because there was no paediatric radiation unit closer to his Wattle Flat home.
The family had been praying that yesterday’s biopsy would find the tumour was a focal tumour, which would have allowed renowned neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo to operate on Braiden.
But it was not to be.
“We have been told there is no hope,” Mrs Wonnocott said.
Numbed by the news, Mrs Wonnocott said the family was now trying to rally around Braiden’s parents, Shaun Peters and Megan Whitwell.
They are also helping in the care of Braiden’s sister, six-month-old Lexi, who currently has a cold and cannot be at the hospital with Braiden because of the risk of infection to him and other children in the ward.
Mrs Wonnocott said the whole family would continue to travel between Bathurst and Westmead helping out wherever they can.
“Megan and Shaun will be down here for the next six weeks while Braiden has his radiation,” she said. “We tried to see if he could get it at Orange so it’s closer to home but there is no paediatric radiation unit, so it has to be at Westmead.”
Last week, in the space of two days, the Bathurst community and donors from across Australia rallied to raise more than $120,000 to pay for Braiden’s surgery as a private patient under Dr Teo.
Mrs Wonnocott said the family had been completely overwhelmed with the generosity shown to them by strangers and if there was one more thing they could could ask of the community it would be prayers for Braiden in the coming weeks.
As the operation will no longer go ahead, Mrs Wonnocott said the donated money would be used for costs associated with Braiden’s care and the remainder donated to brain cancer research and Ronald McDonald House charities.
A portion will also be set aside for funeral expenses.
