Thanks to the kind generosity of our community of donors and supporters, the Sargood Foundation were able to support the recent stay of 12 year old Macaulay and his family.

After a horrendous year where Macaulay bravely had a tumour removed from his spine and a re-occurrence of brain cancer, the family literally had no possibility of a break until a physio at rehab suggested a visit to Sargood on Collaroy.

With three brothers and sisters joining Macaulay on this visit, our fabulous rec team at Sargood were delighted to be able to assist with family activities. All four kids played tennis in wheelchairs and tried out the Baytechs – this was such a great chance for the family to have a taste of what life’s like for their brother and for Macaulay to share his own experience.

With the encouragement of our team, a nervous Macaulay was able to try surfing, as of course a proper holiday means being at the beach! Macaulay’s mum Kate said “I just felt that the Recreation Officers were all about making things as easy as possible with no fuss or bother – before we knew it Macaulay was in a wet suit and ready to go. Most of all, he felt safe and supported to try these great activities – something that he would never usually have been able to experience.”

“People in hospital situations talk about working to achieve independence, but really at Sargood, the whole place is focussed on actually making independence possible. From little things like the accessible dishwasher and power points to bigger things like easy beach access – we could all walk down with Macaulay in the beach chair. Just to be able to do this, made Macaulay feel so included. Nothing felt like a big deal, the staff were great at making everything feel so nice and normal.”

After such a year of huge medical interventions and being so often in and around hospital situations, to be able to enjoy kind and supportive care in a non-medical situation helped this family come together and enjoy a life changing stay at Sargood.