Camp Quality’s Convoy Geelong will celebrate its 10th anniversary of helping kids facing cancer at Beckley Park from 10.30am to 1.30pm on Sunday, February 23. Ahead of the annual fundraiser, Jena Carr speaks with former Camp Quality kid Hayley Rabbas about her journey with cancer.
What Hayley Rabbas went through at 10 years old is something that most people could not imagine.
It was just before her 10th birthday when the now 20-year-old from Lara was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma, which is a fast-growing cancerous brain tumour that starts near the brainstem in the cerebellum.
“I was just throwing up and throwing up and throwing up, until I pretty much had nothing else to throw up. That’s when my parents thought that I better go to the hospital and get an MRI,” Hayley said.
“The week before that, though, I started to feel a bit off, and doctors treated it as an ear infection at first, but it was cancer.
“I was just like, ‘geez, this is going to be a story to tell’. I reckon it was more challenging for my mum and dad because I didn’t know what was going on then, so it was definitely harder for them.
“They tried to dig their worry down deep and put a smile on their face every time. So, for about a year I did about six weeks of radiation and then I was in and out doing weeks of chemo at a time.”
Following her diagnosis, Hayley spent most of the next year undergoing treatment at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne before being declared cancer-free.
“As soon as I got diagnosed, in March the following year I got the all clear and I’ve been clear of cancer ever since, besides just a few side effects,” she said.
“I have Graves’ disease (an autoimmune disorder), which affects my thyroid, so that’s what I’m going through at the moment, but other than that, I’m all good.
“Cancer is not something that I go around telling everyone, so people just see me as a normal person until they ask. I’ve been through more than what most people have through their life.
“Staying positive is the best thing you can do, and my mum and dad, every time in hospital, we played card games… It’s just finding the little things that make you happy at that time.
“We studied all the rules of card games while I was undergoing treatment, so that was pretty funny because we called each other out when something wasn’t done right, and Uno was the main one.”
During her cancer journey, Hayley and her family found comfort and support through the registered charity Camp Quality, which looks to bring positivity, fun and laughter back into the lives of kids facing cancer.
Hayley said she had attended every Camp Quality’s Convoy Geelong fundraiser since she was diagnosed 10 years ago.
“When I was diagnosed about 10 years ago, Camp Quality involved us in family fun days and the camps. So, when I wasn’t as sick, I went on these camps with my siblings,” she said.
“During the family days, we met new families and everything like that, so it was really good… and then you’d have Camp Quality puppets come in to see you while in hospital, which was pretty funny.
“You would be there watching TV, and then you would see a puppet around the corner… So, Camp Quality has just been there and helped keep my parents sane.
“I love attending the Geelong Convoys to see the trucks driving past and hear their horns. Unfortunately, Mum and Dad are away this year, so Dad can’t drive his truck… but I’m trying to jump in a friend’s truck.
“I’m planning to get into airbrushing and pinstriping, but otherwise I’m going to go in the animal field after my apprenticeship. I’m a spray painter apprentice now and I just finished spraying some cars. So, nothing can keep me down.”
Camp Quality’s Convoy Geelong will bring together more than 250 trucks for a 43km journey through Lara, Corio, Waurn Ponds and Geelong, starting and finishing at Beckley Park for its 10th year.
Joff van Ek was part of the original team that helped bring Convoy Geelong to life and said he “never imagined” that Convoy Geelong would “grow into what it is today” after being launched 10 years ago.
“As a kid, I loved watching convoys with my dad, and when I lost a close friend to cancer as a teenager, I knew I wanted to do something meaningful to support organisations like Camp Quality,” he said.
“Seeing hundreds of trucks stretching as far as the eye can see is an incredible feeling, and I’m proud to be part of an event that makes an incredible difference for kids and families in need.”
One of the families attending this year’s free convoy is six-year-old Penny and her father Martin.
After being diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (cancer of the blood and bone marrow) at age two, Penny went through nearly two years of treatment while facing severe side effects, including anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic reaction).
Penny has been part of Camp Quality since 2021 and is now in Year 1 of school. She will join her dad in supporting a cause that meant so much to them.
Camp Quality chief executive Deborah Thomas said Convoy Geelong united the trucking and transport industry with the broader community to help make a difference for kids facing cancer.
“We cannot do what we do to support Australian children and their families during their darkest days without the generous support of the community,” she said.
“Every year we see more and more families register for our services and we strive to provide support for them from diagnosis through to remission, as well as in the tragic case of bereavement.”
Camp Quality’s Convoy Geelong has raised more than $177,000 as of 5pm on Wednesday, January 19, with people able to make donations on fundraise.campquality.org.au/convoy/geelong
