TORQUAY\u2019S Mollie Quinn was in a wheelchair recovering from life-saving cancer surgery a few months ago.
\nThe inspiring 21-year-old is now preparing to walk 80 kilometres in the Northern Territory over six days to raise money for the Sony Youth \u2018You Can Stay\u2019 initiative, which provided a \u2018home away from home\u2019 in Melbourne for herself and family for the two-month duration of her treatment.
\n\u201cI know, I\u2019m crazy,\u201d Mollie laughs at the thought of taking on the Larapinta trail next month.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve started back at pilates and I\u2019m trying to walk most days.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s amazing what your body can do; I\u2019m back into the swing again.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s around the corner but I feel good and I\u2019m excited, it\u2019s going to be a good challenge.\u201d
\nMollie was diagnosed with Myxoid Liposarcoma in December last year, just before Christmas.
\nShe had a tumour the size of a tennis ball in her upper right thigh and started radiation treatment immediately before an operation to remove the tumour and reconstruct her leg.
\n\u201cI had to learn to walk again; After two months of being wheeled around in a wheelchair, driven by family and friends to numerous physio and hospital visits and weeks upon end on crutches, I am finally able to walk again and am increasing my distance each day,\u201d Mollie said.
\nShe said the \u2018You Can Stay\u2019 initiative made all the difference, to what was already a very difficult time for herself and her family.
\nSony Youth \u2018You Can Stay\u2019 is a national accommodation support service in partnership with Quest Apartments Hotels, funding regional youth cancer patients and their families accommodation, while receiving treatment.
\nMollie said without having somewhere to stay, they would have spent an extra three hours a day travelling between Torquay and Melbourne.
\n\u201cIt was already quite exhausting, and there were other appointments as well. They would have been very long days if I\u2019d had to travel,\u201d she said.
\nMollie said when the opportunity to raise money and give back to the program that had provided accommodation and helped so much during the treatment, she had no hesitation \u2013 particularly knowing she would have her sister Emma, 20, beside her.
\n\u201cEmma\u2019s been my rock through it all and when the opportunity to do the walk came up she was all over it; she knows how much it meant to me,\u201d Mollie said, explaining the close relationship they share.
\nThe Larapinta trek will cover 86km in tough terrain and Mollie has committed to \u201cgiving it every bit of my strength to help make a difference to other young people aged 15 to 25 going through cancer battles\u201d.
\nMollie and Emma have set themselves a $15,000 target and with a month to go until the trek, are well on their way, with the support of friends, family and the wider community.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s mind blowing how lucky we are in a community like Torquay,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to have this opportunity to raise awareness for youth going through cancer and so grateful to everyone who has donated.\u201d
\nEvery $100 raised funds a night of emergency accommodation for a young cancer patient.
\nTo support Mollie and Emma and help make a difference to young people going through cancer treatment, donate at sonyfoundation.org\/fundraiser\/quinnsisters<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TORQUAY\u2019S Mollie Quinn was in a wheelchair recovering from life-saving cancer surgery a few months ago. The inspiring 21-year-old is now preparing to walk 80 kilometres in the Northern Territory over six days to raise money for the Sony Youth \u2018You Can Stay\u2019 initiative, which provided a \u2018home away from home\u2019 in Melbourne for herself […]<\/p>\n