Lack of rural health services in Wheatbelt keep Darkan family apart as daughter Zara Horley battles leukaemia

A Wheatbelt teenager battling cancer and her family have been forced to live hours away from each other for months at a time during her treatment at a Perth hospital. Tackling her second bout of leukaemia, Zara Horley, 14, is currently recovering from stem cell surgery at Perth Children’s Hospital — three hours from her Darkan family farm. Almost two years after her first seven-month battle with leukaemia, Zara was diagnosed again in June when doctors at Bunbury Regional Hospital found a ball-sized lesion in her head that was giving her excruciating migraines, vision loss and dizziness. Zara’s mother Mel Horley said her family of five are forced to live hours apart because rural health services are not equipped to treat her daughter’s cancer. “Zara’s not allowed to go any further than 45 minutes away from the hospital, so when she gets through this part and comes out the other side she can’t go anywhere until her Broviac is removed,” Ms Horley said. A Broviac is an IV line inserted under the skin into a large vein leading to the heart. Zara has undergone chemotherapy and radiation to shrink the lesion and kill cancerous cells as well as stem cell surgery. A lack of resources, equipment, training, and staff mean Zara’s needs cannot be treated near her rural home. “Even to follow up with a GP, we lack a consistent GP for those little things,” Ms Horley said. “The nurses in Narrogin are just so limited you can’t pop in to see them and make sure Zara’s OK even wound-wise. “I wish we had more services, even somebody to come around to our home, if Zara was at home, to make sure she was OK.” In September, Zara unexpectedly had part of her bowel removed, which caused a blood infection affecting her kidney and liver, and extended her time in the ICU and medical needs on top of the cancer treatment. “She won’t be out of the hospital for a couple of months, but we still have to stay in Perth, we can’t go anywhere,” Ms Horley said. “And trying to keep home going and up here, having that toll on you is really, really hard. “I have to live apart from my husband and sons so that Zara’s taken care of. “I never want anybody to go through this.” Zara’s father Craig and brother Ryan, 19, must remain in Darkan to run the farm while brother Zak, 17, attends WA College of Agriculture in Narrogin. Ryan said it had affected their entire family immensely. “Being fresh out of school I still rely on my Mum a lot and it’s hard not having your little sister there with you,” he said. “I’ve had to ask other farmers for guidance, and they’ve all helped me out a lot, so you do learn things from other people, but it is very stressful at the same time. “It would be a lot easier if they were closer.” Ms Horley said living across the two locations had been “killing” them financially. “I’ve had to give up work, I’m on leave without pay and farming’s been rough, it is a huge financial burden,” she said. “When Zara was out of hospital we stayed at the Kyle Andrews Foundation apartment, but with one parking spot, we still had to pay for street parking for our second vehicle. “Everything comes with a cost.” The Darkan community has rallied to support the Horley family, raising about $18,500 through their most recent crutching busy bee and auction fundraiser on September 28. Ms Horley said while it was hard for their family to admit they needed help, she was “overwhelmed” by the support and “lost for words with their love”. “The support they’re giving the boys just melts my heart — they’re 17 and 19 and it’s tough on them because they’re still kids as well,” she said. “It’s so humbling to have the support; I can’t elaborate more than that because it’s so overwhelming.”