The family and friends of Point Cook teenager Josh Erikson have started an online fundraising campaign to help the 17-year-old tick off some of the items on his bucket list.
Josh’s mother, Donna Erikson-Rigby said the money raised would also be used to help pay for her son’s medical treatment.
Mrs Erikson-Rigby said Josh, who has glioblastoma multiforme (GM) brain cancer, has experienced a tougher life than many of his peers.
“I think he has suffered more in 17-and-a-half-years than some people do in their whole lives, but he’s very strong and determined,” she said.
Mrs Erikson-Rigby gave birth to Josh and his identical twin brother Matthew at 27 weeks gestation.
Sadly, Matthew passed away a few days later, while Josh was diagnosed as profoundly deaf.
In 2005, he was diagnosed with leukaemia and underwent intensive chemotherapy and radiation.
Mrs Erikson-Rigby said they were lucky that Josh’s eldest brother was a 100 per cent bone marrow match for him.
After a marrow donation, Josh spent nine weeks in isolation at the Royal Children’s Hospital before coming home.
Josh remained cancer free for years, but in 2016 he was diagnosed with a GM tumour, for which there is no cure.
He had surgery to remove the tumour and went through more than six weeks of radiation afterwards.
Last month, Josh had an MRI which showed two new tumours growing. He underwent a 6.5 hour-long surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital to remove them.
Mrs Erikson-Rigby said she had been in touch with some hospitals in America, which have access to drugs unavailable in Australia, to see if Josh could seek treatment from them.
She said Josh had also made a bucket list of things he would like to achieve, which includes volunteering at an animal shelter, going behind the scenes at Melbourne Zoo, swimming with dolphins, going to Disneyland and meeting celebrities including Cate Blanchett and Arnold Schwarznegger.
So far, the online fundraising campaign has raised about $7000 to help with Josh’s bucket list and medical treatment.
Visit www.facebook.com/ourhero11 for details.
