Arya

Our amazing friend Arya Benton is a very special 9yr old who has already beaten Acute Lymphoblastic leukaemia once and now five years later, is back in the ring fighting another round. This time has been more challenging, as she caught a rare type of infection (Candida Krusei - a rare fungal infection that is fatal 90% of the time ) and her blood was riddled with it.

On 27 May Arya was rushed down to the ICU unit with respiratory failure. At this point she was intubated, placed on a ventilator and in an induced coma. The fungal infection had spread to her lungs and caused fungal pneumonia. She was gravely ill and there were very low expectations of her surviving through the night.

A plethora of transfusions and medications kept her going including draining her lungs of fluid and days of dialysis as her kidneys struggled to manage. The fungal infection had also spread to her eyes for which initial treatment comprised of injections into the back of her eyes.

On 13 June a CT scan showed that Arya had suffered a moderate to severe stroke on the left side of her brain. Likely repercussions were: Right side paralysis, no right field of vision, speech impairment and problem solving difficulties to name a few.

A follow-up MRI a few days later showed further bleeding on the brain in the same stroke areas…and her family were back to square one - was Arya to survive the night? Let alone pull through with a favourable diagnosis for stroke recovery with some semblance of a normal life.…

Arya’s fighting spirit and determination shone through and she beat the odds in more ways than one. Arya’s health started improving. Her sedation was slowly reduced and her lungs recovered. On 19 June she was extubated from the ventilator and all oxygen support and 24 June she was moved back up to the Oncology ward.

With daily Physiotherapy Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology Arya has progressed from strength to strength over recent weeks with her Stroke Rehab. But of course that was not why she ended up in hospital in the first place.…she still needs to continue chemotherapy treatment for her leukaemia; of which there is approx 14 weeks of intensive treatment and another 88 weeks of maintenance chemotherapy left.

The journey through this 2020 chapter has been a tough one and the road ahead will be challenging to say the least as Arya and her family work through stroke rehabilitation whilst still undergoing chemotherapy.

The admiration we all have for Arya’s tenacity and strength is indescribable. She’s our Warrior and our hero.

We are starting this fundraiser page so that Mariska and Cam are able to focus all their time and effort on Arya so they can be with her every step of the way over the next few months recovery and treatments at the childrens hospital. Initially the funds will be to help with the financial strain of not working and a raft of hidden costs. All going well, the hope is that Arya will be sufficiently mobile enough to return home between chemo sessions in coming months. There will need to be a few adjustments at home and for her transport to facilitate her mobility.
Arya has endured incredible pain and suffering but her feisty spirit is shining through. She is truly a special girl and our mission is to help her get back to business fighting the leukaemia and playing her drums nice and loud for the neighbours.

Thank you for all your support of Arya and her family.
Jody, Kristina & Meg (aka The "A"rya Team)