Mother gives back

Baldivis mother Jezebel Orellana will be forever grateful her youngest son survived his battle with cancer.

In 2012, Cruz Orellana was diagnosed with stage three, blue cell sarcoma at 11 months old.

Now as Cruz reaches his two-year recovery mark, changing his relapse chances from 50 to 20 percent, Mrs Orellana said she wanted to give something back to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children.

“I walked away with the best thing, and that’s my son and you can’t put a price on that,” she said.

“So I just want to be able to help.”

With tears swelling in her eyes, Mrs Orellana told of the day she knew something was not right.

“I went to put him down for a morning nap and changed his nappy in the morning and found it full of blood and blood clots,” she said.

“In the back of my mind I kind of had the idea it was cancer.”

In January 2012 Mrs Orellana said doctors broke the news to her.

“I honestly thought I was going to lose him,” she said.

To survive little Cruz had a kidney and a 1kg tumour removed, two weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy for a year.

Mrs Orellana said Cruz handled the procedures like a champion.

“He has shown me strength in him that I haven’t seen in anyone... he smiled his way through it when he could, and he really gave me the strength to believe everything was going to be ok,” she said.

Cruz will need to have check ups and scans up until the age of 21.

A real estate agent by day, Mrs Orellana said she was going to raise money through house sales to help support PMH.

A Facebook page with Cruz’s story can be found by searching Jezebel Orellana Elders Real Estate Rockingham and Districts.