April 5 - 11, 2023
Rising to the
challenge By SIMONE KERWIN
WHEN Cody Lepoidevin stood in front of judges for the recent Wangaratta Lions Youth of the Year competition, the moment was a triumph in itself – let alone the fact he went on to take the title. Since 2019, the year 11 Wangaratta High School student and prefect has been battling ganglioglioma, a rare type of brain tumour, and undergoing treatment at Melbourne‘s Royal Children‘s Hospital. Cody was 14 when a routine eye check–up with his Wangaratta optometrist detected swelling around the optic nerve – the cause of which was found to be the slow–growing tumour he may have been living with since the age of six. “At that stage, I just took it on the chin and went with it,” Cody said. “I was flown to Melbourne that night, and had a 10 and a half hour surgery. “After that came 16 weeks of chemotherapy, which made me really sick, and it only made the tumour bigger and grew two cysts. “That was really tough. “I was bedridden for three months and my only activity was in a wheelchair. “As good as the Royal Children‘s Hospital is, I hate hospital – but you do always see someone worse off than you, even when you‘re undergoing chemo.”
◆ YOUNG LEADER: Wangaratta High School student Cody Lepoidevin is enjoying his role as a prefect, having also recently been named Wangaratta Lions Youth of the Year.
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YOUR GARDEN EN
ANIMAL CARE
GONE FISHING
with HELEN
with TAG
with ROB
YOUR HEALTH with FRED
TECH & SCIENCE E with KURT
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