The cries at night in the children's ward at Westmead Hospital will forever haunt Jake Spurdle.
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Just over 12 months ago, what started as pain in his right calf which surged up to his lower back and hip had resulted in a frantic trip by air to Sydney.
The outcome blindsided the family.
On December 30, 2019 he was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma - a type of bone cancer that begins in the cells that form bones.
Suddenly, the sports-mad teenager who had run 10-kilometres at the King of the Mountain event a few months before, had had his world turned upside down.
"It seems crazy but I never thought of the C-word, I thought it would be something we would have to have surgery for to fix," mum Nyky Napier-Reynolds said.
"It seems crazy but I never thought of the C-word, I thought it would be something we would have to have surgery for to fix."
- Nyky Napier-Reynolds
"Seeing my only child in so much pain and not being able to get on top of that is beyond brutal.
"As a nurse of 30 years and a mother it's the worst thing in the world to have to see and tolerate because you would wish it for yourself to take it away from him."
One of the worst experiences for the teenager during his time in the children's ward was listening to children crying at all hours of the night.
"He kept saying to me how on earth could God let children have cancer," Nyky said.
"It didn't dawn on me until quite recently that he was lying in the children's ward listening to the young babies and children cry in the middle of the night and that haunts him.
"He's fearful of hospitals and medical treatment now."
Through the support of his mum, family friends and an Australian company called EnGeneIC, the 15-year-old is now receiving treatment known as nanotechnology.
The treatment will give him a real chance of a better quality of life and is unlike chemotherapy in that it targets cancer cells only.
He is the first paediatric patient in the world with Osteosarcoma to receive this breakthrough technology, but the family know the battle has only just started.
"There never is a timeframe on a cancer journey," Nyky said.
"A dear friend of mine talks about the left-hand turns and how you can never look too far ahead because suddenly something changes."
This week marked seven weeks of treatment and was the last treatment of the first round.
"Jake is clinically quite well, but nerve and bone pain is the worst type of pain," his mum said.
He still tries to keep active as much as possible by training on occasions with Australian paralympic wheelchair rugby duo Ryley Batt and Andrew Edmondson.
The local duo have included the teenager in their training program ahead of the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games.
I've always wished the Rabbitohs would come to Port Macquarie and it's so cool they are now.
- Jake Spurdle
"It's been pretty cool to train with them and they make life in a wheelchair seem easy," he said.
The teenager is also a Rabbitohs tragic and the NRL club have jumped on board with items to be auctioned off next weekend at a Play4Jake event.
Funds raised will go towards medical expenses and associated costs as well as funds towards EnGeneIC for research.
A charity golf day is set for midday on January 29 at Emerald Downs Golf Club with the support of Rabbitohs legends.
Dinner at Rydges has sold out, but the weekend wraps up on January 30 from 9.30am with a wheelchair rugby game including Batt and legends from the Rabbitohs along with local sporting legends at Port Macquarie Indoor Stadium.
COVID-19 biosecurity protocols will prevent South Sydney's first grade players from making the trip up, but they have compiled personal video messages which will be played on the night.
"Loads of (Rabbitohs) legends are coming up and going to all the events which is pretty cool," Jake said.
"I've always wished the Rabbitohs would come to Port Macquarie and it's so cool they are now; it's amazing this is happening and I'm really looking forward to it."
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