Telethon 2026: Brave and bereaved Perth mum whose poem had Telethon Giving Celebration audience in tears

Time stood still for Pamela and Brad Campbell when their bright, cheeky and brave boy Callum died at the age of five in June 2021.

After 350 nights in hospital, countless procedures, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, two heartbreaking relapses and “holding on to hope wherever they could find it”, suddenly it was all over, and Callum was gone.

Pamela will never forget packing up Callum’s room at Perth Children’s Hospital and going home with Brad and their eldest son, Jackson.

The world kept turning but theirs had stopped, and they felt the absence of the “incredible” medical team who had become like family during Callum’s two-year battle with acute myeloid leukaemia.

They were now, as Pamela explained during a powerful speech at the 2026 Telethon Giving Celebration on Wednesday, existing in a space “that is often less seen, but no less significant”.

“The wonderful, inspiring stories of hope and survivorship were no longer our reality,” she explained.

“You not only grieve the loss of your child, but you grieve the loss of an entire team and support network, and somehow you have to breathe, get up every day, be a parent, face work and put food on the table.”

As the couple embarked on the heartbreaking reality of moving through life without one of their children in it, Pamela’s thoughts turned to the many other families with stories like theirs.

“Other cancer families, families who have lost children to heart conditions, blood disorders, rare diseases, the list goes on and on,” she said.

“We all want our beautiful kids not to be forgotten, and the families not to be invisible in their heartbreak and pain.”

Pamela has sought to turn this pain into purpose by advocating for these families.

Late last year, when asked to share her experience for a palliative care education session for PCH staff, she penned a poem which moved hundreds to tears on Wednesday as it was shared during the Giving Celebration.

It captures how kindness, patience and meeting families “where they are at” can have a profound impact as they learn to live again after loss.

“To you, this might be another shift, another family, another room filled with beeping machines,” it reads.

“For me, this is my whole world. Meet me where I’m at. Because in that shared human space, you remind me that love is still there, even when everything else has fallen away.”

“And when my child is gone, please don’t forget their name. Say it. Remember it. Honor it. Remember them.”

Pamela said while it had been incredibly difficult to put the emotion and trauma of losing Callum into words, sharing the poem and her family’s story had helped her to feel seen in her grief, and less alone.

She also paid tribute to the PCH staff and ongoing support of Telethon beneficiaries such as Kids Cancer Support Group, the Starlight Foundation, Radio Lollipop and Lionheart Camp for Kids.

“Through my journey and lived experience, I now have big dreams for how families are supported and cared for from the very, very beginning to the very end and beyond,” she told the audience.

“So I ask you to please keep the momentum going, keep showing up for families, keep creating moments of light in the darkest of times, for the families who are beginning their journey to the ones right in the middle of it, and for the ones like mine, who carry their child forward in a different way.

“Because together, what you’re doing here isn’t just support, it’s hope.”