Angelia's adversities: Why Andrew fights for better treatments
2025-04-17
Andrew Le Verde can recall the details of his daughter Angelia’s ordeal with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia on a whim, but there’s one part he’d like to forget.
“That first six weeks of treatment is something I don’t really want to remember. She changed within herself,” he says.
“The Angelia we knew wasn’t there. It felt like my daughter was on holiday for six weeks. There was another child in our house and at the hospital.
Angelia is five. She’s described by Andrew and mum Gab as happy, caring and outgoing – a bit cheeky, but she’s a loveable little one that’s just started swimming lessons!
She’s also come a long way.
Constipation plagued Angelia from a young age. A blood test for the constipation, in an attempt to solve the problem, revealed that she was severely anaemic. Andrew remembers his daughter being quite unwell, to the point where her lips had turned white and her feet were blue.
Three days and multiple tests later, Angelia was formally diagnosed with leukaemia.
“I’d heard of leukaemia before, but I didn't know what it actually was,” Andrew recalls.
“All I kept thinking was blood disease, blood cancer... bad.”
“I remember when they told us. My wife and I were in the emergency department – we just looked at each other and felt our world change in an instant.”
The news, coupled with the effects of the COVID pandemic at the time, made it difficult for the entire family to remain connected. The only support Angelia, Gab and Andrew had in the hospital were themselves.
Angelia’s fighting spirit shone through, and she finished her treatment in late 2024. She’s now doing monthly tests, with her levels rising each time. Her hair is growing back, and the family have their sights set on Angelia doing things that all little girls do at age five.
Angelia’s ordeal has Andrew convinced that the need to find better treatments for paediatric cancer is at a critical point. While she has bounced back, side effects from treatment are still a very real and present issue.
“The treatment is intense. Kids shouldn’t have to go through that amount of medication and poison being put into their bodies.
“If there’s something out there that’s less strenuous on them, I’m all for it.”
“There are so many generous people in the world. I just ask that everyone give whatever they can to help fund better treatments for these kids.
“Any support helps because these kids don’t deserve this life at all.”
Survival starts with science, and a tax-deductible donation made before 30 June will ensure science can continue to pursue better treatments for kids with cancer like Angelia.