By Pam Kiriakidis
DURING the Easter break, Jason and Rebecca Schemmerling were told their youngest daughter Bronte Mae had a brain tumour known as ependymoma – a common brain cancer identified in children.
Bronte Mae, 5, underwent a marathon 16-hour surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital to remove the tumor, which was first noticed by staff at Epping’s Northern Hospital.
“We were just staying in the ward room. Me and my wife were just sitting there on a couch waiting for the result of that surgery,” Mr Schemmerling said.
“We both had the blinkers on at that moment, still getting over the shock of the results from the scans at the Northern Hospital.”
Mr Schemmerling said the first surgery was not enough to remove the entire tumour and Bronte Mae required a second surgery.
“It was such a long surgery but still that wasn’t enough time to get all of it out. But [it was] enough to eliminate the immediate danger … it alleviated a lot of pressure around the brain,” he said.
“They did their [second] surgery and at the end they told us ‘you wouldn’t believe it but we’ve got everything out’.”
Following the removal of the tumor, Bronte Mae now has to undergo radiation treatment at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Mr Schemmerling said Bronte Mae was a fighter, known by the family as the ‘warrior princess’ in recognition of how quickly she got back on her feet to brighten up the room with her ‘old soul.’
“Right to the last hurrah she would fight … after the surgery she was able to quickly recover because … [of] that sort of stubborn, resilient spirit that she’s got,” he said.
“It was quite quick and she surprised everyone in the hospital that she recovered from a major brain surgery.”
Jason Schemmerling
Throughout the process, the family’s friend Rebecca Latimer, a nurse at the Northern Hospital, was quick to assist, organising transport for the family to go to surgeries along with a GoFundMe page to assist with financial hardship while Bronte Mae receives treatment.
Ms Latimer set up a ‘Schemmerling support crew’ through Red Kite – an app that coordinates a crew of helpers to take care of daily tasks that can be left behind when caring for a child with cancer.
Mr Schemmerling said Ms Latimer and the Whittlesea township made it possible to take care of his family.
“Since we’re going in and out each day to the Royal Children’s Hospital, and we’ve got two other kids, I’m not getting home until 6 or 7pm,” he said.
“It’s hard to do your normal everyday tasks such as preparing dinner [and] doing lunch boxes.”
The family met Ms Latimer in 2020, when Ms Schemmerling was completing a gym challenge online and came across Ms Latimer who lived a block away, with children attending the same primary school.
“Funnily enough both of our names are Bec, and we’ve become like sisters,” Ms Schemmerling said.
Ms Schemmerling said Ms Latmier was like a mother figure to Bronte Mae, especially in the days leading up to her second surgery.
“She did a little makeover for Bronte the day before she went into her second surgery … she bought us really cool clothes and did her make-up and hair, and she felt super special,” she said.
To help Bronte Mae, people can visit .
