Ben, Maisy, 22 months, Nicole, and Mia, 7, Depuit have faced more battles than anyone should have to.
Photo by
Bree Harding
Brett Spargo says running in the harsh heat of a Victorian summer to train for an event isn’t hard on the scale of challenges life can potentially throw at you.
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Take the hand Mia Depuit and her family has been dealt, for instance.
At just 12 months old, the former Whitsundays girl was diagnosed with stage four adrenal cancer.
She was airlifted to Brisbane and subsequently transferred two states away to Victoria’s Royal Children’s Hospital for treatment to undergo open heart surgery and have an adrenal gland removed.
As a result, her family uprooted their lives and moved south, to Shepparton, to be closer to the specialised medical services.
After six months, in 2019, Mia was given the all-clear.
Sadly, cancer knocked again in 2023.
Her father, Ben Depuit, said while Mia’s second diagnosis — this time bone cancer — was just as shocking as the first, the family was more prepared with the knowledge of what lay ahead.
Mia had the small bone removed from her left leg and grafted into her right leg.
The surgery was, thankfully, a success.
“Not much stops her,” Mr Depuit said.
“Doctors said she wouldn’t walk for six months, but she was into it within a couple of weeks.”
He said he and his wife, Nicole, couldn’t keep their eldest daughter still.
“She struggles not being a ‘normal’ kid,” Mr Depuit said.
After Mia’s first diagnosis, the family underwent genetic testing, which revealed both Mia and Mr Depuit carried Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
Li-Fraumeni is an inherited autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to increase the risk of developing cancer.
Most people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome inherit an altered copy of the gene from an affected parent.
In 2021, Mr Depuit had an oesophageal cancer removed. Just two months ago, he had a non-cancerous, low-grade brain tumour that had been discovered through now-regular testing removed, and has had to take three months off work as a railway signal technician.
Brett Spargo will run in the Good Friday Appeal fundraising event in seven-year-old Mia Depuit’s honour.
Photo by
Bree Harding
Mr Depuit’s workmate and Shepparton runner Brett Spargo is getting ready to lace up his sneakers for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal fundraiser Run For The Kids to run in Mia’s name for the second consecutive year.
He’s been hitting local tracks for about 30 to 40km each week in preparation for the 14.4km run on April 6.
“In the heat, sometimes the motivation is not there, but I think of Mia and she gives me another focus to keep me motivated,” Mr Spargo said.
“Being uncomfortable in the heat is nothing compared to what Mia goes through.”
Mr Spargo has in the past raised money for the Peter Mac Cancer Foundation, inspired by his ex-wife and the mother of his two children’s battle with bowel cancer.
He said Aussies, particularly regional-based patients who had to travel, were lucky to have the Peter Mac Cancer Centre and the Royal Children’s Hospital “one-stop-shop” world-class medical centres available to them.
“It’s not just what the Royal Children’s Hospital does for the kids, but what they do for the families of sick kids as well,” Mr Spargo said.
“I love to raise awareness and funds to keep the science and technology going. It’s a great thing to keep me ticking along.”
Last year, Mr Spargo raised $3200 for the cause.
This year, he has set a $5000 goal (and raised more than half of it in the first few weeks of his campaign, too).
After a lifestyle change brought on by disappointment of his less-than-ideal fitness condition five years ago, Mr Spargo said he loved the physical and mental challenge running afforded him.
And now, with the opportunity to raise vital funds for kids in need adding another element to “keep him honest”, Mr Spargo said it was an even better feeling knowing he was helping others.
Mia Depuit, 7, is an active child whom her parents struggle to keep still.
Photo by
Bree Harding
“I want to help kids like Mia keep being kids. She’d rather be there playing with other kids than in hospital,” he said, as he gestured to the smiling redhead making new friends on a playground.
Mia is currently in remission for the second time in her seven years.
∎ To donate to Brett Spargo’s Run For The Kids Good Friday Appeal fundraiser, visit tinyurl.com/4dbcakks
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