Brave Kiama Downs youngster Dexter Heffernan will be among thousands of excited fans at Saturday’s Nitro Circus show at WIN Stadium.
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Dexter and his family were selected for the Mercury and KidzWish ‘Ultimate Nitro Circus Experience’ for Saturday’s show.
This includes VIP tickets to the show, as well as a meet-and-greet and backstage tour with the stars of the Nitro Circus.
“He absolutely loves noise, so he’s a very typical boy in that sense,” mother Lenice said of the news.
Dexter, who turns seven in May, was born prematurely and suffered periventricular leukomalacia, a form of brain damage, and as a result has cerebral palsy and impaired vision.
At 13 months he was also diagnosed with cancer and underwent chemotherapy and surgery after lesions were discovered in his liver and lungs.
Dexter marked five years cancer-free last December, and his mother said he was doing “really well” health-wise.
“We had a bit of a rough end to 2017… He was diagnosed with epilepsy on New Year’s Eve 2017,” she said.
“We’d actually gone a full year without any unplanned hospital visits.
“But apart from that he hasn’t had any more seizures since then, and he’s doing really well.”
Wheelchair-bound Dexter is a year 1 student with two teacher’s aides at Minnamurra Public School.
“He’s doing really well at school,” Mrs Heffernan said.
“He’s still coming home really chatty in his own way. He’s coming home with a little bit more attitude I think, as does happen when they get to school.
“He’s starting to really show his personality to the teachers, and the teachers are starting to know that it’s okay to go mad at him and treat him like every other child in the class, which is really good,” she laughed.
“He’s got some amazing friends at the school.”
Meanwhile, KidzWish wish recipient Dexter was in attendance for the ninth annual KidzWish Bowls Day fundraising event on Friday.
The event took place at Wiseman Park Bowling Club.
KidzWish marketing manager Karouna Micheal said they were fundraising to purchase new equipment for Dexter to improve his independence.
“Additional funds raised will support the construction of the new KidzWish Place in Flinders, benefiting Illawarra and South Coast children who are sick, disadvantaged or have a disability,” he said.
Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
