Chad Layton
December 12, 2004-December 8, 2009
The story of little Chad Layton of Wilberforce has been followed by The Gazette since he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma on his second birthday. Chad died in December last year, and The Gazette asked his parents Julie and Adam if they would like to provide a tribute to their boy, detailing his brief life. While their grief is enormous, it's an uplifting story.
THIS tribute is to honour our beautiful brave boy Chad, and to thank the Hawkesbury community for the love and support during Chad's journey with neuroblastoma (childhood cancer) over these past three years.
Sadly our "big boy" Chad passed away just four days short of his fifth birthday on December 8, 2009.
We would like to personally thank The Gazette for following Chad's journey and keeping the people of the Hawkesbury updated with his progress, treatments, his battle with this horrible cancer and his love of life.
Although Chad's lifetime was only for five years he crammed 50 years of living into it.
Chad wanted to be a superhero when he "grew up". What he didn't realise was that he already was!
Chad inspired and continues to inspire so many people around the world. He taught us to keep fighting and never be negative ? one of his many favourite sayings was "brave like me".
Chad's favourite thing in the world was learning at and attending Wilberforce Pre-School. He could not believe that some children didn't have the opportunity to attend school, and Chad's saying "all kids should have a school" inspired family friend, Dave Denton from Denton Homes, who arranged a group of local businessmen to donate their time to build a kindergarten in a slum village in Vanuatu, changing the lives of so many children and their families by giving them the opportunity for an education. All inspired by Chad!
A happy, outgoing little boy who loved people
Chad always had so much to say, he loved to talk. He'd talk to anyone and everyone and find out as much about them as possible.
He had so many friends - of all ages. He had an amazing memory and would remember every single piece of information from every person he spoke to.
He would remember everyone's name - everything about them, their children, family, hobbies, pets, their profession and discuss these in detail - everytime he saw them.
Chad just loved everyone and would always tell you that he loved you and that they were beautiful or handsome and no-one was allowed to leave our home without giving him a hug or two or 10.
Chad would tell Adam and I he was so proud of us, he never wanted us to cry and told us to be brave like him.
One of Chad's favourite things was going to pre-school or school as he called it. He couldn't wait to come home and tell us all about his day and what he did and then he'd want to do about three hours worth of homework!
Chad was so very advanced for his years even from an early age. He was walking at nine months, could count to 50 by the time he was about two (and 500 by the time he was four). He could spell and read words and do anything he wanted to.
His attention span was unbelievable and he would concentrate on every project he did.
He would do a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle with ease. I remember one day he asked me to help him with a jigsaw puzzle and he got frustrated because I was "too slow" in finding the pieces and "wasn't much help".
Hospital was a huge part of Chad's life
He would question the doctors and surgeons, and knew all about his treatments, medications and could explain in detail the type of pain he was experiencing, whether shooting pain, stinging pain, bone pain or muscle pain. He would pinpoint every single tumour in his body without ever seeing his scans.
Westmead Hospital is a huge place, but all the nurses and doctors would know when Chad was "in the hospital" and would go out of their way to come and talk and have a detailed conversation about the happenings of the oncology ward and clinic. He knew everyone!
He loved drawing; one day he drew a picture of his left arm which accurately showed every tumour in it, without ever having seen his scans. The doctors and nurses were blown away by how accurately he had pinpointed every tumour.
Chad told Adam and I that this picture was our instructions so we knew where his arm was sore and we could massage it.
Many of Chad's drawings will be published in a book being written by his palliative nurse about children coping with terminal illness, and will be part of the school curriculum.
Thank you
It is devastating losing a child; we could not have coped without the help of Julie's Mum (Barb Hurst) our many friends and the Hawkesbury community. The following children's charities made a huge difference in Chad's life and offered him a good distraction during his treatments by providing play therapists, music therapists, education, and nurses, and made this journey bearable for Chad and our family. Our sincere thanks to Cure Our Kids, Camp Quality, and Kids with Cancer.
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