Under the Auld Pump: From hell and back for brave teenager Bailey Delaney

Bailey, why was it so good to be at the 2018 grand final, especially as you've said the team you barrack for Collingwood lost that grand final in the final minutes of the game?

I went to the game with my dad Mark and my siblings Kyle and Maddie. It was sad the Magpies never won the game but I was just pleased to be there. The Collingwood Football Club and in particular the 2018 coach Nathan Buckley were there to help me when I was so sick.

Is it alright to talk about your health?

I'm comfortable with it. My life took an unexpected twist when I was six years old on September 4, 2012. I was having a bath at home and my parents Joanne and Mark noticed an unusual rock-hard swelling in my right leg. I was taken to the Warrnambool Base Hospital where blood tests and ultrasound examinations revealed lymph node swelling behind the knee, in my groin and stomach. A week later at the Royal Children's Hospital I was diagnosed with stage four cancer. The medical people said after more tests that I had a rare aggressive alveolar rhabdo myosarcoma at an advanced stage.

Bailey, it must have been a very, very scary time for a six-year-old to have that medical report read to them?

It was difficult but on the other hand I really couldn't comprehend everything that was being said. I knew I was very sick. I was too young to understand it all. The ones that carried all the weight were my parents Joanne and Mark. They were distraught. I would say it impacted mum even more because she's a nurse and knew all the medical talk and what the consequences could have been. I'll never forget the doctors told me that I would not be able to walk again after the treatment and there was no way known that I would play footy. It really hurt me when the doctors told me those things because all my mates were playing Auskick and I loved playing footy.

Can you remember much about the treatment you had to endure?

Yeah. It was pretty tough but there's been something tougher which I've had to endure in my life. I had to have massive doses of chemotherapy at the Royal Children's Hospital for a year and in between the chemo treatment I would be taken to Peter MacCallum Hospital for radiotherapy. The radiotherapy went for 28 days straight. It was pretty tricky with the radiotherapy as they had to hit the right knee and my groin area plus the right side of the calf muscle in my right leg. They only gave me the weekends off from the radiotherapy but then I went back on the chemo. I'll never forget I was allowed to come home from the Royal Children's Hospital after the chemo but because I had no immune system left in my body I would get infections so I would go to the Warrnambool Base Hospital as my temperature would be so high. It was like I was going from one hospital to another. I've got vivid memories of my time in grade one at Timboon. I only spent eight hours at school for the rest of my schooling and grade one was done at the Royal Children's Hospital when I was feeling well enough to study. I spent a lot of time in a wheelchair. There were complications with my left leg growing. I would have been eight or nine years old when they stunted the growth of my left leg as I tried to walk again.

They had to put what they call risers in my right shoe so I would be level when I walked and they also had to drill holes in the growth plate in my left leg in the knee region. I'll never forget the MRIs they were really tough. I had to lay still on my back for two hours. I couldn't move for two hours, when they were finished my back and legs were aching in pain.

What do you mean by the statement you had to endure something tougher than the cancer treatment?

Sadly, I lost my grandfather John "Perc' Dwyer who passed away suddenly in July 2015. We were very close and his passing has impacted all our family. Perc was just a champion bloke. I've been lucky to have had great parents in Mark and Joanne plus my siblings, family and friends to help me through my lowest times.

Bailey, when did you have your last treatment for the cancer?

The last treatment I had was on January 14, 2013. I was back to the Royal Children's Hospital every few weeks for check-ups and then it went to every few months and now they have pushed it out to yearly check-ups. I'm not on any medications now. I'll only be at the Royal Children's Hospital for one more visit, all my medical records will be transferred to the long term follow-up clinic at Peter MacCallum Hospital.

How is life for Bailey Delaney in May 2023?

I haven't got too many complaints. I started an apprenticeship with Brandt in Terang earlier this year. I'm working on tractors and I'm loving it. I suppose it's all about growing up on a farm. I'm up at Swan Hill this week at trade school so there's no 18th birthday party for me on Wednesday (31). I started playing footy for Timboon's under 18 side last year and this year I was appointed captain of the side which has been a huge thrill. Ash Tregae is our coach and he's assisted by John Ryan and Jarrod Cook.

It's great to get out and have a kick of the footy with my mates. We're on top of the ladder after eight games and I hope we can keep on winning. My dad Mark played 326 games with Timboon and I would love to follow in Mark's footsteps and play senior footy for the club.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.