General News
15 March, 2021
Gia rings the bell on chemo
CHEERS of joy filled the grounds of the Cairns Hospital last Friday as young Gia Smith declared that she had finished her chemotherapy and beaten Leukaemia, by ringing Bayley's Bell.
CHEERS of joy filled the grounds of the Cairns Hospital last Friday as young Gia Smith declared that she had finished her chemotherapy and beaten Leukaemia, by ringing Bayley's Bell.
Diagnosed at just two years old, the now four year-old Mareeba toddler has spent much of her life in and out of hospitals in Cairns and Brisbane fighting against Leukemia.
Gia rung the bell at Queensland Children’s Hospital early last month where she initially spent time for treatment before returning to Cairns.
Now back home, Gia got the chance to announce to everyone who has supported her and her family through this journey that she is cancer free, a fact that still feels surreal to her mother.
Gia’s mum, Regan Smith feels like both her and her husband Karl can breathe easy knowing that they got through it.
“It’s special we get to share the end of Gia’s chemo journey with everyone that’s close to us and have been a part of her life,” she said.
“Gia is excited she wants to do everything, she said ‘now my bloods better I can go to Disneyland, I can play football, I can do dancing’".
“Karl and I feel like we can actually breathe now, we can stop revving high, take it down a notch and relax.”
For Regan, the most surprising part of Gia’s story was the support given to her and the family, even by people she did not know.
“When something like this happens, I couldn’t be more grateful of where we live,” Regan said.
“We had so many people help or doing kind things just because, it was mind-blowing.”
Now in remission Gia will be having regular blood tests until she is 18 to identify if there is a resurfacing of cancer and to get back on top of it early.
“The doctors in Brisbane told us that if it does come back, it will be in her blood, so the blood tests will pick it up straight away,” Regan said.
Gia will now set her sights on doing the things she was unable to enjoy while undergoing treatment and start living like a four-year-old with a new lease on life.
