A regional NSW community is rallying around a young Aussie dad after he was diagnosed an aggressive form of leukemia.
Rhees Goodridge, 36, from Murwillumbah, in northern NSW, went to the ER last month with an infected abscess on his backside that only required a small surgery.
His former partner Hannah Darling, with whom he shares son Banjo, 8, said there were no obvious indications anything was amiss with Rhees’ health.
‘Aside from feeling maybe a bit lethargic and having this abcess that wouldn’t heal very quickly, he didn’t feel anything was wrong,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Ms Darling was on a trip to Japan with Banjo and the pair were in regular phone contact with Mr Goodridge. With hindsight, she recalled the small business owner had seemed more tired than usual.
‘He was always in bed by 7.30, you could tell he was exhausted all the time,’ she said.
‘He was going to work but that was kind of all he could do.’
When Ms Darling and Banjo were ten days into their month-long trip, Mr Goodridge called to say he had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a blood cancer which starts in the bone marrow.
Hannah Darling (left) and son Banjo (centre) are paying daily visits to the hospital bedside of Rhees Goodridge (right)
Banjo was on a trip to Japan with his mother when he found out about his father’s diagnosis
The disease had been detected during routine bloodwork before the surgery for his abscess.
A separate diagnosis of myocarditis – inflammation of the heart muscle – added to his ordeal.
The mother and son flew home early so they could pay daily visits to Mr Goodridge’s bedside at Queensland’s Gold Coast University, 90 minutes away from their home.
‘It’s so challenging because there’s so much to learn so quickly, but from what I gather he’s having the most aggressive treatment possible,’ she added.
Hannah said on Friday, Mr Goodridge was 15 days into his chemotherapy treatment, and the strain on his body was confronting.
‘He’s very unwell, he had the most amazing long hair and this long beard and everything’s fallen out,’ Ms Darling revealed.
‘Honestly I can’t explain how horrific it is, he looks like he’s about to die.’
Despite the pain and exhaustion of treatment, Mr Goodridge’s character was still shining through.
On Friday Rhees Goodridge underwent his 15th day of chemotherapy treatment
‘No matter what manner of agony he is experiencing, no matter how many times he is pricked and prodded or wheeled off for another test, no matter the discomfort or the fevers or the fear, he smiles and thanks every single nurse, doctor, or unit staff member that enters his room,’ said Ms Darling
‘He tells them about his beautiful son and how this fight of his life is all for him.
‘He immediately learnt everything there is to learn about his new reality – the names of the meds, the procedures and protocols of the hospital, the names and stories of his nurses – no matter the chaos that is circling around him, his determination to move through each new harrowing phase is astonishing.’
Ms Darling started a GoFundMe page for Mr Goodridge when it became clear he would need financial help with his treatment and living expenses.
‘It seemed he would have to remain in the vicinity of Gold Coast University Hospital for at least a year,’ she said.
‘He can’t work – also everybody’s lives around him has completely changed as well, his family all live in Sydney.
‘He’s very, very independent and he hates asking for help. So I think it was a really big deal for him to accept this help, and I think he’s very blown away.’
Ms Darling has also taken heart from the response to the appeal, with almost 200 donations so far for a total of $23,400.
She added: ‘I was thinking about what lay ahead, this insurmountable mountain that I wasn’t sure how we were going to climb, and the support has been really beautiful.’
