Community
5 March, 2026
Hedy’s brave battle with leukemia
WHAT should have been an incredible Christmas for Jacqueline Altree after welcoming a new child into the world became a daunting experience after her six-year-old daughter, Hedy, was diagnosed with Leukemia.
Dr Altree and her partner, Lauren Beasley, had welcomed their new baby, Adelaide, only two weeks before noticing their oldest daughter was struggling with fatigue in December 2025.
“Hedy had been really tired and was complaining of an ear ache,” she said.
“We thought that, with a new baby in the house and it getting towards the end of the school year, she might have just been tired because she had been staying up and trying to help with the baby.
“She didn’t really want to go to school, which she loves, so we thought she might just want to be at home with the baby so we’d let her stay home.
“It sort of went on for too long – she was more tired than I would expect.
“She had also developed some swollen glands which didn’t really seem consistent with having an ear infection to that degree.”
Dr Altree said the family was returning from outing to Port Fairy when she couldn’t wait any longer and the family decided to take a detour to Warrnambool Base Hospital.
“We were on our way back from the Port Fairy Christmas Market – I panicked and took her to the hospital – she’d fallen asleep on the way back in the car and, thinking about it, I just felt like I didn’t want to sit on this,” she said.
“We took her to the hospital and they did some bloods – they said the bloods were non-reassuring, which is always non-reassuring to hear.
“The ultrasound confirmed the lymph nodes were not normal, reactive lymph nodes so they recommended we go down to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“At that point we were not sure if she had Lymphoma or Leukemia, but we knew she had something.”
The diagnosis would come quickly after testing and a subsequent bone marrow test confirmed Hedy had B-cell Leukemia.
“She didn’t have any Leukemia cells circulating in her bloodstream in Warrnambool but when we got the Melbourne, 24 hours later, she did,” Dr Altree said.
“It’s the most common type and has a good prognosis, but it’s still scary.”
The diagnosis saw the family relocate to Melbourne overnight as Hedy cannot be more than an hour away from the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“We have a new-born, it was Christmas time – we hadn’t even finished Christmas shopping, we just packed everything in the car and drove straight through,” Dr Altree said.
“Our Christmas tree is still up – Hedy hasn’t been home since the day we left for the Port Fairy Christmas Markets.
“Initially it felt like we were on holidays.
“I’m on maternity leave so it was always going to feel like a hiatus but it’s weird – it feels like normal life keeps happening for other people but not for us.
“We’re almost completely dislocated.”
While the situation has brought unimaginable stress to the family, the presence of charitable organisations in place to support those with a sick child has helped to alleviate some of the pain – allowing the family to keep their attention on Hedy, where it is needed most.
“Initially we were in a one-bedroom apartment through the Ronald McDonald Foundation which was great, just the best thing,” Dr Altree said.
“We were driving down not knowing where we were going to stay but the hospital and Ronald McDonald House said we’ve got you – come stay with us and don’t even worry about it.
“It was such a load off – we got there and they had Christmas presents for Hedy, they had a kitchen with food in it so we didn’t have to cook.
“It was absolutely amazing, but with a newborn we’ve now got a two-bedroom apartment through the Leukemia Foundation, which has been so helpful.”
Dr Altree said charitable donations make all the difference to families going through such an illness.
“The Royal Children’s Hospital has its annual Good Friday Appeal, the Leukemia Foundation is putting us up at the moment and Ronald McDonald House put us up initially,” she said.
“Redkite are also helping us with a few other bits and pieces such as a psychologist and music therapy for some of the big feelings which have been happening.
“There’s a lot of people who could do with a couple of bucks because these charities are all really helpful.
“Being in Melbourne, away from family and working, is very expensive but there are so many amazing charities which can help.”
Hedy has responded well to treatment and went into remission during the initial phase of chemotherapy, the induction phase, but a long road to recovery awaits the family.
“We’re now in the consolidation phase, which is still high-dose chemotherapy but it’s done in pulses,” Dr Altree said.
“They let her blood counts recover in between pulses – we’re about to start the second month, but it had to be delayed because her blood counts are still low, which is an ongoing issue.
“But’s she doing well – she’s got plenty of energy.
“We’ve had ups and downs – we’ve been backwards and forwards to the hospital with fevers, which requires high-dose antibiotics.
“She’s had COVID but she’s been well throughout – she’s occasionally needed blood transfusions as a top-up so we’re in-and-out of hospital a lot.”