MOLLYJANE

Living with a metabolic condition never gets easier for MJ, but her fighting spirit gets stronger!

Mollyjane loved every moment of being a face of Jeans for Genes in 2020, as was obvious when she chose to organise a fundraiser for research to celebrate her birthday.

Unfortunately, she had a particularly nasty bout of gastroenteritis recently, which is terrifying for her family, because if she goes without food her body can attack her heart. The good news is that this was the first time in her life that MJ wasn’t rushed to emergency when sick.

MAX

The last year has been a massive one for little Max.

Since he became a face of Jeans for Genes in 2020, he has started preschool, began swimming lessons, got a new puppy named Joey and the best news is – he became a big brother to baby sister Remi!

Max may live with a syndrome that can develop into bone marrow complications, but his parents are celebrating that he’s only had one hospital visit this year.

Let’s all hope that it is his last for 2021 and he can focus on being the best big brother ever.

CHARLIE

Life may get more exciting every day for Charlie, but unfortunately living with cystic fibrosis means that his routine will always be the same.

Whether Charlie is doing all the things he enjoys, like camping in the bush with friends, building Lego with his family, or going to school for the first time – it all starts with pills and therapy.

One great advancement for Charlie this year has been working through his fear of needles!

LACHLAN

The last year has been hard for all of us, but Lachlan has had a particularly tough time.

His year started well, going to Big School for the first time, but then the challenges came. First, he fractured his foot, then his parents found out that he is coeliac and anaemic.

These are difficult situations for any child, but when you have developmental delay, cerebral palsy, and autism – it is hard to comprehend.

One thing that you can always count on with Lachlan is that his smile will brighten any day – that certainly hasn’t changed!

BEN

For kids with compromised immune systems, like Ben, COVID has been tough. He spent most of last year being home-schooled and tried to keep away from public places.

This year has been a bit more exciting for Ben. He has changed schools and—after stopping sport during cancer treatment and while building up his strength – he has finally felt strong enough to start playing soccer!

CHARLIZE

If there is one medical milestone that Charlize and her family were happy to celebrate over the last 12 months – it was no more emergency hospital visits.

Charlize has had a great year: starting Big School, doing gymnastics, and now thinking of hospital as a place to occasionally visit, rather than her Second Home.

One of the other biggest changes has been that Charlize’s liver transplant seems to be really agreeing with her, and she wants to eat anything and everything that comes her way!

BRIELLA

Milestones in the life of a child living a with genetic condition are a huge celebration and Briella has had a pretty big one this year!

Briella has faced more challenges than most in her young life, including almost a year in hospital in traction before surgery to lengthen her spine, but one thing you can always count on is her optimistic spirit.

In a sign that her body is getting stronger every day, Briella has achieved a goal of being able to jump! We are sure that now she’s started – she won’t stop any time soon.