Above: Tyler Fishlock, 4, is all smiles on the slide at Narre Warren South P-12 College.
By Rebecca Fraser
TYLER Fishlock may be blind, but his life is anything but dark.
The brave youngster visited Narre Warren South P-12 College last week after year 11 students banded together to raise funds for the four-year-old’s education fund.
His mother Georgette and sister Madeleine, who travelled from Caroline Springs to express their gratitude, accompanied Tyler to receive the $2000 cheque.
Tyler’s well-publicised plight with cancer caught the attention of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning students earlier this year.
The students said they were keen to use their personal development subject to assist someone in the community and they then organised a Homestead Football Day and basketball tournament in Tyler’s honour.
The young boy has lost both eyes to a rare form of cancer and there is a 99 percent chance that he will develop secondary cancer in either his bones or skin.
Ms Fishlock spoke to students about Tyler’s journey with cancer, and how doctors had fought long and hard to save his sight, before removing his first eye in October and the other in January.
The mother of two said her son had started to learn Braille and they had recently purchased a Braille machine.
She said the donation would be used to fund Tyler’s future education and she was just blown away by the school’s generosity.
“What your community has done for my son we will be forever grateful for.
“$2000 is such a fantastic effort,” Ms Fishlock said.
Ms Fishlock said the family had received 9000 letters from right across Australia and even from well wishers in Greece and Papua New Guinea. The family will soon travel to Queensland after the Make A Wish Foundation granted Tyler’s wish, with the energetic boy looking forward to revisiting Dream World.
Ms Fishlock said she remained hopeful that within Tyler’s lifetime new medical technology would be able to restore her son’s sight.
She said her son still lived a normal life despite his blindness.
“He is an amazing child and not just because he is my son. He inspires myself, my husband, family and friends,” Ms Fishlock said.
Senior sub-school coordinator Rob Duncan thanked Ms Fishlock for sharing Tyler’s plight with students.
“This has been a lot of work for a lot of you guys (students).
“To find out from the horse’s mouth what it was all for and to get a whole greater insight into what Tyler has already faced and the hurdles he has to overcome is great,” Mr Duncan said.
