By Violet Li
A Casey local finished a landmark fundraising in February by running 10 kilometres a day for 100 days, to assist with her partner’s medical costs and future research for brain cancer.
Layla Kelly decided to run 10 kilometres a day for 100 days after her partner Damien was diagnosed with brain cancer in October last year.
It was a way to raise money for the expensive treatment and more of a way to raise hope.
The brain cancer, a grade 4 diffuse midline glioma, is a rare pediatric cancer, with limited treatment options available to the 26-year-old Damien.
A silver lining is Damien has been eligible for a clinical trial that provides him with a new drug designed specifically for his type of tumour.
“Going on that, he risks going on the placebo, so we started a fundraiser to raise some money for that and he does a lot of alternative treatments too,” Layla said.
“They’re all pretty expensive things.
“No day is easy. Some days, he’s not 100 per cent himself when he wakes up and that interferes with work a lot as well.
“That’s why we started the fundraiser essentially.”
At the time of the writing, the fundraising pool has reached over $200,000. At the last run on Sunday 16 February, more than 200 people came to see Layla finish her last 10 kilometres for Damien.
“It’s such a busy day, and it was a really beautiful experience,” Layla recalled.
Layla said Damien was the biggest motivator throughout the whole journey.
“Damien has always been quite fit, quite healthy, and there were days where I didn’t feel like getting up and running, some days, you don’t even feel like brushing your teeth when that’s on your mind, but he would quite often get into the gym and do his own exercise, and it just puts you in the mindset that, if he can get up and do it, then so can I?” she said.
“I was really lucky in that sense.”
The next step is to keep positive, and keep healthy, Layla shared.
