A brighter birthday

Carlin Snooks is promoting CanTeen's bandanna appeal with the help of Breakers basketballer Awvee Storey. Photo / Richard Robinson

When Carlin Snooks was told in March he had leukaemia, his doctors at Auckland's Starship hospital said he could be back home in New Plymouth by his 14th birthday.

His father took a job in Auckland to be with him and his mother moved into the parents' quarters at the hospital, leaving their two younger children with their grandmother and aunt in Taranaki.

Seven months on, Carlin's birthday is on Monday. But there is no sign of the family's nightmare ending.

"They said I might be home for Christmas, but it will take at least three years before it's out of my system," he said yesterday.

The disease, and the drugs used to attack it, have eaten away at what was a healthy young body. His weight dropped from 75kg to 52kg; he's now back to 56kg.

"He has lost all his muscle," said his mother, Tania Low. "He has to learn to walk again."

But one thing keeps his spirits up - CanTeen, the charity that supports cancer patients aged 13 to 24.

"They come and take him to activities in the ward - even just playing Nintendo Wii, or painting, at least he's interacting with other children," Ms Low said.

Yesterday, Awvee Storey, a 2m basketballer from Chicago who joined the Breakers two months ago, stopped by to talk basketball and try on brightly coloured bandannas with Carlin as part of the Breakers' CanTeen sponsorship.

CanTeen's annual bandanna appeal begins today. Bandannas are on sale for $4 at Pak'n'Save, New World, Four Square, Jeanswest, Farmers, BP, Repco, Burger King, Radius Pharmacy and ASB Bank outlets and at the website www.canteen.org.nz.