MOUNT ELIZA’S By Daniel Failla
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ndrew Wesley, a local of Mount Eliza for the last 12 years, certainly doesn’t run away from the fight to help raise funds for cancer research. He will be doing his bit to help raise funds and awareness for cancer by tackling the New York marathon this November. Spurring Andrew on to help support the cancer cause is the story of a young man named Kynan Omann, the son of one of his friends who has suffered and survived through a recent battle with cancer. Andrew said that the decision to take part in the New York marathon was made easy due to his running history, but said that Kynan’s story provided him an extra boost. “I’ve run four marathons before this one but this time the marathon has an extra motivational factor, because I’m running to help Kynan,” Andrew said. Andrew was told of Kynan’s story by the boy’s mother, Samantha. He took the situation to heart, using the young man’s battle as inspiration for his upcoming run. Samantha Omann is the mother of Kynan and had never actually met Andrew before the two came across each other in a chance meeting over Facebook. Sam and Andrew both supported Redkite, a foundation designed to help young people with cancer, and it was through the Redkite page that Andrew first learned of Kynan’s story and felt compelled to get in touch. Andrew met and became friends with Samantha by reaching out and asking about Kynan’s situation and offering to help.
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10 | PENINSULA
August 2018
Kynan Omann’s journey battling cancer started in May 2017. Kynan was only 14 at the time when he first started complaining of a headache. After being taken to the doctor’s twice and not making any progress he was finally taken to hospital where it was discovered that Kynan was suffering from Hydrocephalus, also known as water on the brain. Hydrocephalus is a condition where there is an abnormal build-up of fluid in the cavities of the brain, which can be known to raise pressure inside the skull and squash surrounding brain tissue. Some symptoms include headaches, vomiting, blurred vision, cognitive problems and difficulty walking. The patient’s outlook can be dependent on how quickly they are diagnosed and treated, and luckily for Kynan he was taken to hospital at the first sign of worry. Unfortunately for Kynan and his family, another complication was discovered in the form of a brain tumour that was pushing on nerves in his brain. Thankfully it was treatable, and after successfully undergoing brain six weeks of daily therapy, he was cleared to go home. Kynan is now back to school full time and can carry on with life, but his mother Samantha says that his life will never be the same as he still struggles with some daily issues. “Kynan is still experiencing some sight problems and he needs to have blood checks every three months, and this will go on for the rest of his life,” Samantha said. continued next page...