Anya's Story

Armidale local, Anya, has missed many years of schooling since she was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma when she was 13 years old.  She was determined not to fall behind and stayed up-to-date with her core subjects simply through her teachers emailing work while she received treatment at Westmead Children’s Hospital.

Anya soon joined the Ronald McDonald Learning Program, and on her return to Armidale in Year 10, she was able to secure a tutor to accelerate her learning of German, and has now chosen the language as a HSC elective subject.

For Anya, the stress and anxiety of returning to school after illness was lessened with the assistance of the Learning Program.

Anya says, “It’s not just keeping up with work, but keeping up with your friends. The Learning Program gives you more time to focus on other aspects of schooling.” 

Anya wants to spread the word about the Learning Program, so all kids battling serious illness know that the program is out there and they have access to it.

“It’s really helped not just the educational side of my life, but the personal side. I’ve really got a lot out of it,” Anya said.