THE family of a two-year-old boy who “left for the stars” after fighting a cancerous tumour are encouraging people to come together for a charity event.
Dax Peek died on August 31 two years ago, just six months after he first showed signs of illness during a family holiday to Disneyland Paris to celebrate his sister Darcie’s sixth birthday.
The toddler was diagnosed with a rhabdomyosarcoma – an aggressive children’s cancer – and underwent gruelling treatment before sadly passing away.
His dad, Jonny, described the last two years as having “huge ups and downs”.
He said: “Sometimes there are good days and sometimes there are really bad days.
“That is something as a family we have worked out. That is going to be continuing for the rest of our lives with the anniversary of things.
“Dax should have started primary one this year. That was quite a sad couple of days – we should have been picking out school uniforms.
“Then we are walking Darcie to school and seeing other little ones going into primary school was quite upsetting. We have come really close as a three. We are really open and honest with each other, which has been a really good success.
“A lot of families might break apart in the face of something like this but, on the upside, we have got closer and are a good little team.”
Jonny, along with wife Devon, has been busy organising the special fundraiser in aid of Children with Cancer UK.
Currently, childhood cancer only receives two per cent of the government cancer funding. Devon encouraged people to head to Hallhill Sports Centre on Saturday (August 27) to support the good cause.
All funds raised from the charity night, which gets under way at 7pm, raffle and auction go towards the charity, which is dedicated to raising money for research and providing care for children with cancer and their families.
Devon, 32, said: “The treatments available for children are restricted, brutal and dated. Often children are left facing poor outcomes, horrific side effects and long term physical difficulties. We’ve witnessed childhood cancer, we’ve witnessed sarcoma and they are true monsters. We want to witness change.”
Family, friends and strangers had raised more than £45,000 to help the family, who live on Dunbar’s Salisbury Walk, as they looked to fly out to San Diego to see a top surgeon in a bid to remove the benign tumour. Jonny, who works as an instrumentation technician off-shore, described the support of people as “humbling” and “really fantastic”.
He told the Courier how difficult the six months had been after Dax had first shown signs of illness.
The 34-year-old said: “It was very aggressive and it is the type of cancer, a rhabdomyosarcoma, which is not a rare cancer but where it was and the things it did was very rare.
“It did not act like a normal rhabdomyosarcoma and that’s why it took specialists across the UK by surprise; how this thing was doing what it was doing.
“Seeing somebody go from a really happy two-year-old completely change in his appearance and everything was hard but he really managed to keep his humour, which was fantastic to see.
“Even right up to the end, he lost his hearing and sight in the last couple of days but he was still putting his little thumb up. That was fantastic, just lovely to see but sad at the same time.”
Tickets for the fundraising night are £10 and available from www.eventbrite.com/e/daxs-charity-night-tickets-347176493237
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