Australian Story: Abby's Road

Australian Story: Abby's Road   

Airs Monday, April 25 at 8pm on ABC & iview – introduced by Caroline Jones

Ten years ago, Nicola and Jim Walker received the news that every parent dreads. Their two-year-old daughter Abby was diagnosed with leukaemia, a life-threatening illness.

'I would do anything to save my daughter's life. You just want to make sure that your baby's going to be OK." - Nicola Walker, mother

Abby's parents hit upon a controversial course of action – to have another child and harvest stem cells from the new baby's umbilical cord in case Abby relapsed and needed a transplant.

'It was only when I spoke to the nurse, she just mentioned am I going to have any more children, and then she spoke about stem cells and said that they can actually be used to transplant into Abby if she relapses. That's when I thought at that moment, I should definitely have another child." - Nicola Walker

The Walker's invited Australian Story to film with them as they embarked on this solution, providing intimate access to a deeply moving family experience.

In this Australian Story update, we revisit the family to find out how Abby is faring and the consequences of their unusual decision.

'I was a bit concerned about James finding out that his stem cells had been stored for Abby because I thought maybe he would be quite angry at the fact that he may think that we just had him for that reason, which is not the case." - Nicola Walker

'Abby is 11 years old now she's a very happy child; she's very healthy, fit and healthy." - Jim Walker, father

'I do think I'm a different person. It has just taught me to be brave, strong and, yeah, nothing scares me." - Abby Walker

Australian Story: Abby's Road – airs Monday, April 25 at 8pm on ABC & iview