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 child Callum died in June 2021, aged five.
After 350 nights in hospital, countless procedures, multiple chemotherapy sessions, 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 heading 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 leukemia.
As Pamela explained in her powerful speech at the 2026 Telethon Giving Celebration on Wednesday, they now existed in a space that was “often less seen but no less important.”
“Wonderful, inspiring stories of hope and survival were no longer our reality,” he explained.
“You’re not only grieving the loss of your child, but you’re grieving the loss of the entire team and support network, and you’re having to kind of breathe, get up every day, be a parent, work, and put food on the table.”
As the couple stepped into the heartbreaking reality of moving on without one of their children, Pamela’s thoughts turned to the many other families with stories like theirs.
“Other families with cancer, families who have lost their children to heart conditions, blood diseases, rare diseases, the list goes on,” he said.
“We all want our beautiful children not to be forgotten and their families not to be invisible in their heartbreak and pain.”
Pamela tried to turn this pain into purpose by advocating for these families.
Late last year, when asked to share her experience of a palliative care training session for PCH staff, she penned a poem that moved hundreds to tears when it was shared during the Giving Celebration on Wednesday.
It describes how kindness, patience, and meeting families “where they are” can have a profound impact as they learn to live again after loss.
“For you, it might be another shift, another family, another room full of beeping machines,” it reads.
“For me, this is my entire world. Meet me where I am. Because in this shared human space, you remind me that love is still there even when everything else is lost.”
“And when my child dies, please remember their name. Say it. Remember it. Honor it. Remember them.”
Pamela said it was incredibly difficult to put into words the emotion and trauma of losing Callum, but sharing the poem and her family’s story made her pain seen and helped her feel less alone.
He also paid tribute to PCH staff and Telethon beneficiaries such as Children’s Cancer Support Group, Starlight Foundation, Radio Lollipop and Children’s Lionheart Camp for their continued support.
“Through my journey and my lived experience, I now have big dreams for how families are supported and cared for from the 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 families who are starting the journey towards what’s happening right in the middle, and for families like me who are moving their children forward in a different way.
“Because what you do here together is not just support, it is hope.”
