By Sarah Gawthorne

Pictures: David Hahn. Make-up: Deanne Dority.

When Stephanie Martin’s sick sister needed help, she bravely volunteered, despite the risks.

Cradling her two-month-old baby boy in her arms, Stephanie Martin is clearly mesmerised by her tiny bundle. Steph’s sister Jessica sits by her side, and as the loving mum and devoted aunty coo over little Zelko Levi while he sleeps, they share a smile. Both are just happy that their family is safe and well after a health crisis almost ended in tragedy for them both.

Jessica, now 18, was 14 years old when she was diagnosed with leukaemia.

“I’d been sick with what I thought was the flu,” says Jess. “When I was diagnosed with leukaemia after some tests, I was terrified. My whole family was there to support me, including Stephanie.”

Jess needed a bone marrow transplant and her family were tested to see if one was a match. Stephanie, then just 16, was the only suitable donor.

“When I found out Jess was sick I just kept wishing it was me,” says Stephanie. “I’d have done anything to take away the pain she was in. When they said I could give her my bone marrow, I didn’t hesitate.”

After the painful operation, both the sisters recovered while their family waited to see if it had been a success.

“I was bruised and sore and couldn’t walk after the transplant,” says Stephanie. “But all I cared about was Jess. When we found out it had worked and she started getting better, I was so relieved.”

After months of recovery, Jess finally returned to school and, other than the odd check-up, life went back to normal.

“We’d always been close, but after going through that, we had a special bond,” says Steph.

Four years later, shortly before her 18th birthday, Jess started to feel unwell again.

“When the doctors said the leukaemia was back, I was devastated,” says Jess. “I could not face going through it again.”

To help The Children’s Hospital at Westmead call 1800 770 122 or visit www.chw.edu.au

Do you agree with Steph’s decision to risk her unborn baby’s life for her sister? Have your say below…

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Her besties made her popular… then she MURDERED them!

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

I lost $500,000 on the pokies

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Arsonist Jenny Hayes killed my family as they slept

Weird pregnancy cravings

My husband overcame many challenges after his injury.

A vibrator exploded my heart!

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

65 Tinder Dates in one night

My Tom Cruise impression paid off my debt!

Mercury retrograde 2024: What it means for your sign… and your relationships

How to get back on your feet after COVID

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

Pictures: Ray Messner

As police close in on the arsonist believed responsible for the fatal Marysville fire, we reunite with the locals we first met in 2002.

In 2002, Woman’s Day went to Marysville to meet the residents and find out why this mountain retreat was such a loved part of Australia.

We found a close-knit community filled with thriving local businesses and residents committed to creating a safe place to raise their families.

Among them were cafe owners Jane and James Fraga. A lot has changed since 2002, not least the Fraga family, which now has two additions ? Benjamin, 2, and Anna, eight weeks. Other changes have not been so happy.

Tragically, not only did Jane and James lose their home and cafe in the fires, but two much-loved employees also perished.

“This is where my son’s bed used to be,” says Jane as she shows Woman’s Day what’s left of her house, now little more than dust. “It’s where I’d tuck him in and tell him, ‘Tomorrow we’ll go pick daisies from our friend Veronica’s garden’.”

It’s only in recent weeks that the Fragas and the rest of the town’s survivors have been able to return to Marysville, and many tears have been shed.

“There have been a lot of funerals. It hasn’t been easy,” says Jane. “It was a very tough wait not knowing if anything was left. Somehow, walking through it all at last has helped me to deal with what’s happened. There’s nothing left of our home, but at the cafe we managed to salvage a few bits of equipment.”

The resilience of Jane and James is inspiring. Putting their pain behind them, they insist that compared to some friends, they’re doing well, even using the word “lucky”.

“A friendly customer has given us their holiday home in Buxton, just 10 kilometres away, to rent for a few months,” says Jane. “We’ll build a new home in Marysville. Thankfully, we had insurance.”

When we first met Jane and James, they explained how the town’s beautiful forests and friendly locals had charmed them into making it their home. Their newly established Fraga’s Cafe was fast becoming a hit with locals and tourists alike, their Belgian lemon teacake gaining fame.

“We’ll never leave here,” said James, who married Jane in the forest in 2000. Despite the horrors of February 7, he hasn’t changed his mind.

“Like most people from Marysville, we’ll be back,” nods Jane. “For some older people, the thought of rebuilding is just too hard, but the majority of people want to stay in this community.

“To lose your house or business, that’s a setback. You can rebuild. But we’ve lost friends, the homes that Benjamin and I would walk past each day, waving at the neighbours. We’ve lost everything that made up our world. But we’re still here, and we’re focusing on the future!”

They were Australia’s worst ever bushfires. Show your support, read others’ stories and share your own in our special bushfires section…

Have your say below…

Writer_contributor Jacqui Lang

Related stories

Previous

Her besties made her popular… then she MURDERED them!

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

I lost $500,000 on the pokies

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Arsonist Jenny Hayes killed my family as they slept

Weird pregnancy cravings

My husband overcame many challenges after his injury.

A vibrator exploded my heart!

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

65 Tinder Dates in one night

My Tom Cruise impression paid off my debt!

Mercury retrograde 2024: What it means for your sign… and your relationships

How to get back on your feet after COVID

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

My neighbour, Deb, was extremely proud of her two sons — and didn’t she want everyone to know about it! At 8 and 11 years old, they were the cockiest, most arrogant children I had ever met, and all because their parents never disciplined them for any of the reckless antics young boys are known for.

On top of this, I had to put up with the constant bragging about how amazing her sons were — at sports, academic work, singing, drama. In their mother’s eyes, there was nothing these boys could do wrong, and they excelled at every single thing life presented to them.

I might not have minded her constant boasting if I didn’t have my own children of the same age, who often had to sit around over our cups of coffee hearing themselves being compared to the world’s most perfect children. Without boasting myself, there were several things my children were better at — but Deb would shoot it down whenever I even suggested their own brilliance!

I began to get sick and tired of feeling like I had children who were “underachievers” — her generalisation for any child who wasn’t hers. It was a word she often used in front of my boys.

A few months before the end of her eldest’s last year in primary school, Deb and her family went away on holiday for a few weeks. I was given the task of collecting the mail, and over the weeks I noticed a number of letters coming from a prestigious local private school — a school I would almost have killed to get my own child into.

After the third letter, I began to imagine that the correspondence was quite important and I couldn’t help myself: I opened the letter! No real surprise, it was a last-minute offer for a place at the school for Daniel. The catch was they had to reply by the end of the week. Knowing that the family wouldn’t be home for another two weeks, I hatched my evil plan. What if I could get my son Tom in, in Daniel’s place?

My son Tom was genuinely brilliant, but it the fees for this school were exorbitant so I’d never considered sending him there. But my desire to show up Deb was greater than my consideration for our finances. I rang the number on the school letterhead and was soon telling the receptionist that Daniel’s family had left the area, but that I had a son who was soon to be of secondary age.

Of course, there was a lot of haggling: they had waiting lists, policies, entrance exams. But it soon became apparent that they had recently lost a lot of government funding, and needed to fill all available spots very quickly. It may also have been that she was tired and bitter — the poor woman sounded sick to death of dealing with the politics and bureaucracy of the school. Whatever the reason, after 20 minutes of my frantic begging, the worn-down woman did what I had never really expected her to do. She gave my son the place!

You can’t imagine how smug I felt when Deb came over a few weeks later, devastated that her son had lost his place.

“I can’t understand it,” she whined. “The old secretary left. Apparently she had some gripe about the school. And now some underachiever is going to benefit just because she was a sad old cow!”

Sipping at my coffee, I bit down the urge to joyously profess who the “underachiever” was!

Two years later, my son is doing brilliantly. I could never have imagined how the right recourses and environment would make my son soar — and he is so happy. I’m sure Daniel is still doing well, also. I wouldn’t know — Deb and her family have moved. But I often wonder what she would say if she knew Tom has taken her precious son Daniel’s place at the fantastic school.

All names have been changed. Picture posed by model.

Your say: Have your say about this true confession below…

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Her besties made her popular… then she MURDERED them!

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

I lost $500,000 on the pokies

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Arsonist Jenny Hayes killed my family as they slept

Weird pregnancy cravings

My husband overcame many challenges after his injury.

A vibrator exploded my heart!

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

65 Tinder Dates in one night

My Tom Cruise impression paid off my debt!

Mercury retrograde 2024: What it means for your sign… and your relationships

How to get back on your feet after COVID

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next