Hunter Hamilton and his family have been through a lot during the past year after the 8-year-old boy was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour. To put some joy back into his life, Hunter was treated to a special meet-and-greet with his Geelong Cats heroes. Jena Carr sat down with Hunter and mum Kelly to speak about his health journey and the big surprise.
When 8-year-old Hunter Hamilton woke up last Friday morning, he had no idea of the surprise waiting for him.
The young boy and his family made the journey down from Cranbourne to Geelong on June 13, where he met with his biggest heroes from the Geelong Cats.
The past year has been a challenging time for the family, with Hunter diagnosed with a rare and non-cancerous brain tumour called craniopharyngioma.
Mum Kelly said Hunter was getting headaches every day throughout August last year, which led her to take her son to the doctor.
“We went out shopping one day and he was fine. All of a sudden, he got a red face and started crying and said, ‘Mum, I’ve got a massive headache. I need to go home’,” she said.
“I knew something wasn’t right, so we went to the doctors, and they ordered an MRI. We had that done and the next day they rang and said we needed to come in to the doctors straight away as his results were back… Unfortunately, he had a mass on his brain.
“He also had clusters surrounding the tumour. They were going to operate and take a small section, but when they (surgeons) got in there, they couldn’t. So, they had to remove a whole side of the tumour.
“For three months after that, he couldn’t do anything. He was an active kid who then couldn’t swim, ride his bike, jump on the trampoline, kick a footy, or hit a tennis ball.
“When he went back to school, he had to stay inside for recess and lunch. He couldn’t go out because we couldn’t afford for him to fall over, get pushed or get hit with a ball.”
Fast forward to February this year, Hunter underwent another MRI that found the tumour had grown despite the surgery.
“The surgery normally keeps the tumour that he’s got dormant, and nothing happens. It just stays dormant, but unfortunately, his grew,” Kelly said.
“The tumour is inoperable as they can’t take any more out because everything has surrounded itself around it. He’s walking and talking, so they can’t touch it.
“We had to go straight to six weeks of radiation for five days a week. That really broke him. We were in the hospital and he really broke down because we just thought it (the tumour and treatments) was over.”
Kelly said Hunter was doing well at the moment but would need to undergo further MRIs and doctor appointments throughout his life to monitor the tumour and the surrounding clusters.
“He’s still getting headaches, but that could be simply from swelling from the radiation, because he only finished that about three weeks ago,” she said.
“We’re lucky that when doctors did a small sample biopsy, and it came back, the tumour wasn’t cancerous. I feel sorry for the parents who are going through a child with cancer.
“It’s horrendous enough not having it. Going into the oncology room where there are kids that do have it is so sad. As terrible as it is with what Hunter is going through, you thank your stars that it’s not worse.”
Outside of medical appointments and school, Hunter loves playing for Nar Nar Goon Football Club. Despite everything he’s been through, Kelly said Hunter doesn’t complain about anything.
“Unfortunately for him, he has to wear a helmet now, which nearly deterred him from playing football because of what kids can be like, as some may not be nice,” Kelly said.
“We were able to find one that was a Geelong helmet so that everything matches. There’s another kid in his league who wears the helmet as well, so he’s not alone.
“His coaches have been amazing. Through the treatment, he still went to training and played games. The coaches knew everything that was going on and kept an eye on him.”
Clint Stanaway from Nova 100’s Jase and Lauren breakfast show organised the meet-and-greet with Hunter and the Cats.
Mr Stanaway said he was happy to help provide a “terrific experience for a young man who has done it really tough”.
“He comes from a family of Carlton and Essendon supporters, so he’s actually the outlier of the family, which makes it even more unique and impressive,” he said.
“The experience took him out onto the field where he met every single Geelong player. They all shook his hand and knew his name, which he was really chuffed about.”
A highlight for Hunter on the day was spending time with his favourite player, Jeremy Cameron, who is somebody Hunter wants to be like when he is older.
“It felt good and I was a bit surprised (to meet Cameron). He was funny and we talked about his farm. I (also) gave him some goal-kicking tips,” he said.
“What I like most about football is getting to run around and kick goals. I play for Nar Nar Goon because they’re the same colours as Geelong.”
Jeremy Cameron said he had a great time meeting Hunter and receiving some goal-kicking practice. The young boy was also treated to a private tour of the club’s rooms at GMHBA Stadium.
“He taught me a few things and actually kicked a couple of really nice dribble kicks from the boundary. He’s got really good skills,” he said.
“Hunter’s a fantastic kid and it was great to have him out here. It was nice to have a really nice day for it and all the boys got around him which was perfect.”
The surprises didn’t stop on Friday, with Nova 100 revealing on-air Monday morning, June 16, that Hunter had been invited back to Geelong later in the season to run out with the Geelong Cats team for a home game.
