DID you know that by doing one simple act, you can save three lives?
Three lives.
And you get a free drink and snack for your efforts.
We’re talking blood donation and it’s something Kellie Bell is extremely passionate about.
So much so that she and the wider Corrigin community have saved more than 200 lives through their blood donation efforts alone.
Rewind a few years and blood donation wasn’t even on Kellie’s radar, as she and her family went about their daily lives on their farm in Bullaring, near Corrigin.
Kellie has lived in the area her whole life, meeting her husband Travis at school before the two went on to make a life for themselves farming and had three children, Tyson, 10, Remy, 9 and Ruby 5.
A qualified hairdresser, Kellie has a passion for photography and loves being involved in her local community.
The family has plenty of close friends and family nearby, including Travis’ cousin, Juan Baker and his wife Keren, who live on a neighbouring farm with their four children, Mollie, 9, Jebediah, 6, and twins Leo and Ellie (3).
The families are close, with Kellie and Travis being godparents to the Baker’s twins.
In June last year, the Baker family was hit with some heartbreaking and confronting news when a then two-and-a-half-year-old Leo was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer, Neuroblastoma.
The community felt their pain, as did Kellie and her family, and they were overwhelmed with a sense of devastation but desperately wanted to help in any way they could.
“When they shared the news, it was just gut-wrenching,” Kellie said.
“You hear about childhood cancer but it just doesn’t feel real until it happens to someone you’re close to.
“We knew it was going to be a tough journey for them, but there really wasn’t much we could do, so we did as much as we could to help with the practical side of things.”
Leo’s diagnosis meant treatment had to begin straight away and given they lived more than 230 kilometres from Perth, the family was given a room at Ronald McDonald House Perth where they could stay for 12 months.
As Keren stayed with Leo in Perth during his treatment, Juan continued to run their farm and look after their other three children.
While there was initial talk of fundraising for the Baker family, Kellie said Keren and Juan were adamant that they didn’t want any fundraising done for them personally and that if any was done, it should go towards a charity.
Kellie and the community stepped up to try and assist the family, by keeping everything as settled as possible on the home front so Keren and Juan could concentrate on getting Leo well and back home.
“The family has done an amazing job to keep things going for the other kids and how well they have coped,” Kellie said.
“They are incredible.”
Still wanting to help further, Kellie said a Facebook post from Keren relating to low bloodstocks in WA sparked an idea.
“I found out that compared to South Australia and Queensland, which have similar populations, WA is miles behind when it comes to bloodstocks,” Kellie said.
“So many blood products go towards treating cancer patients and that’s not really something I ever really knew before Leo got sick, I just assumed it was mainly used for surgery or trauma patients.
“Leo needed a lot of blood products as part of his treatment and that felt like something we might be able to help with.
“I was chatting to another lady in town, Robyn Crombie, about it one day and she suggested that maybe we could organise a bus to go down from Corrigin to Perth for people to donate blood.
“I put a post on Facebook to see if anyone would be interested and I had more than 40 people message back within the first hour saying they would be keen.”
The idea continued to gather momentum with local businesses offering donations to cover the costs of fuel and the bus hire.
It became a reality and the first bus load left Corrigin in March with passengers having to spread out across three blood donor centres throughout Perth to ensure everyone could donate on the day.
“Keren and Leo came down to one of the centres and were able to see everyone which was really nice,” Kellie said.
“The Red Cross has just been blown away that a little country town could achieve getting so many people on board to donate blood.
“The Red Cross blood donation centres are amazing, they are so beautifully maintained and the staff are just lovely, it makes for a really positive experience.
“People are continuing to donate to our Team Leo, which is known as a Red25 team, so we can keep a tally of how many people have donated and it’s not just been in WA, we’ve had people donating to our team from Victoria and South Australia.”
So far there have been more than 70 donations to Red25 Team Leo, from which more than 210 lives have been saved.
There are three different kinds of blood donation; whole blood, plasma and platelets and the permitted frequency of donation varies accordingly, with whole blood donation allowed every 12 weeks, plasma every two to three weeks and platelets every two weeks.
There are also some eligibility requirements, all of which is explained on the donateblood.com.au website.
“I check our team tally every morning because I love seeing it go up,” she said.
“We’ve taken a few car loads of people down since and now people know how easy it is, they make it a regular part of their trips to Perth.
“I think we’ve made people more aware of just how easy and beneficial it is, because we all know someone who has been impacted by cancer, so it can make people feel like they are helping in some way when there is not a lot else you can do.
“While an individual might have an idea like this, the fact is that none of it works if people don’t support it.
“This is reflective of our Corrigin community and we want people to know that one small donation can make a big difference.”
As far as the community is concerned, donating blood is nothing compared to what their little hero Leo has endured.
So far, he has had five rounds of chemotherapy, two rounds of mega-therapy (high dose chemotherapy), surgery, stem cell rescue and 20 days of radiation treatment.
Kellie said his recent scans looked promising and they were hoping that he may be eligible for immunotherapy.
Inspired by his bravery, they have continued to rally and fundraise for various child cancer charities.
Another friend of Keren’s, Stacey Brown from Carnamah, organised for a Team Leo in the HBF Run for a Reason, which raised more than $9000 for the Kids Cancer Support Group.
Kellie’s son, Tyson, and mates from his year 5/6 class at Corrigin Primary School were involved in a charity bike ride from Bullaring to Corrigin recently.
“It’s great getting the kids involved and so far, they have raised over $750 for Kids Cancer Project, which is focused on finding a cure for childhood cancers,” Kellie said.
Also taking place last week was the Team Leo Charity Auction, at the Corrigin Recreation and Events Centre, with an impressive array of items donated to the cause including sporting memorabilia, fine jewellery and even a drone.
The money raised from the auction will be added to the Team Leo Central Park Plunge tally, with two teams organised to take part in the event.
Kellie, Keren and two other friends will form one team, while Keren’s father and her three brothers will make up team two for the plunge, which will see both teams abseil down the Rio Tinto building in Perth.
So far, between the two teams they have raised $18,497 and Kellie said they were hoping for another $15,000 from the charity auction, with all funds going towards Ronald McDonald House.
She said they hadn’t written to anyone to ask for donations but the power of social media and the generosity of people had shone.
“When you see a community come together to achieve something great without any personal benefit, it’s an incredible thing to see and be a part of,” she said.
“Everything we have achieved has exceeded my initial expectations and it makes me feel like I’m doing something to help, and hopefully Keren, Juan and the kids can look around and see that everyone is doing this because we love them and want to support them.
“It’s all stemmed from people wanting to be part of something bigger than themselves and bigger than our community, it’s for Leo, but it’s also for the next country kid that needs that support to get them through probably the toughest time in their lives.”
