Three-year-old Ava Garland of Forbes was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in June last year. Within hours of having blood test results Ava started intensive rounds of chemotherapy at Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney. Ava is the youngest of Andrew and Kathy’s five daughters. Kathy and Ava had to remain on site at Westmead for the next eight months, which meant the close knit family was forced to live in four different locations until January.
Scarlett was boarding at Red Bend, Polly, Willa and Olivia moved to Orange with their aunt and Andrew stayed at home to run the cropping enterprise. Ava has mostly responded well to treatment and returned home with her mum in January to begin 18 months of home chemotherapy. The family lives over 50km out of town and with Ava’s regular checks and hospital visits it is a juggle to manage family activities while maintaining Ava’s care. A group of friends have come together to organise a concert to raise funds to support the family as Ava continues her journey through leukaemia. Opera for Ava will be staged at Red Bend Catholic College in Forbes on Saturday, 8th April from 2pm.
Mezzo soprano Dominica Matthews from Australia, soprano Kathleen Moore from Canada and sensational tenor Diego Torre from Mexico will be performing, accompanied by talented Forbes local Barbara Bruce on the piano. There will be something for everyone, with well-known arias from classical operas including Rigoletto, La traviata
and Carmen, and popular pieces from musical theatres such as Phantom of the Opera, Sweet Charity and Les Miserables.
Tickets cost $85, and includes drinks and canapes, and can be purchased from Hazell & Field in Forbes, or via email at opera4ava@gmail.com. For more information contact email or on facebook.com/opera4ava/