Bathroom haven unveiled for WA kid who beat cancer
Treatment became all-consuming when Noah was diagnosed with ewing sarcoma at just 11 years old, leaving him needing to endure 31 rounds of radiation and 14 rounds of chemotherapy.
A stark image of Noah sitting in a hospital bath with a radiation burn the size of a dinner plate and so thin you could see his spine touched hearts around the State last year as Telethon raised a record $83.3 million for sick kids.
A warm bath became a haven for the now 13-year-old during treatment — a space where he could zone out from a reality no kid should face.
But the bath at his family home was so small the water would not even come up to his waist. Noah Johnson underwent 31 rounds of intense radiation treatment leaving him with third degree burns on his back. Credit: Unknown / Supplied
Thanks to the Build Now Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation inspired by Telethon to help WA families, a new bathroom was unveiled for Noah on Friday including a bath so deep he can submerge his whole body.
The charity supports families in need through building projects including making homes more accessible for children with disabilities or just creating a fun space for a sick kid.
Noah could not wipe the grin off his face as he had his first bubble bath in the new bathroom, even fit out with a pillow and a holder for his iPad.
'The baths helped me. They meant a lot because that was my comfort zone and no one would disturb me when I was in the bath,' Noah said.
'The old bath was small and it would make me itchy. Noah, 12, was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma. Credit: Daniel Wilkins / The West Australian
'This bath is really cool and I really like how it has a pillow rest. I love it.'
The bathroom has perks for the rest of his family as well with everything refitted including a new rain showerhead that Noah's stepdad can fit under.
'When Noah was in chemo he got that burn on his back and he found a love for having baths because it brought his temperature down and made him zone out from what was going on,' his mum Kristy Johnson said.
'Whenever he wasn't feeling well, he'd get in the bath and just stay in there for hours on end.
'Having the Build Now Foundation come in and help us and give him a new bath that he can fit in is just amazing.'
Noah, with his mop of hair, is a far cry from just seven months ago, when the chemotherapy and radiation used to treat the cancer left him too weak to walk, with his weight dropping to just 35kg.
He is now able to be a kid again, celebrating six months in remission on June 11.
Noah said he was happy that he had been able to go to school more and see his friends but missed pranking the Perth Children's Hospital nurses. Noah Leaving a check up at the Perth Children's Hospital. Credit: Daniel Wilkins / The West Australian
Stepdad Adam Jenkins said the family could finally smile again, admitting there were not many happy moments while Noah was undergoing treatment in 2024.
'He still gets a lot of muscle fatigue but he has his appetite back and building his muscle back up is the next step,' he said.
'Last year, there was a routine of work, hospital, treatment, fevers, tests — real down in the dumps and trying to cheer him up while we were trying to keep ourselves going as well. Noah has finished chemo but the bath still gives him some peace and comfort. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian
'Now we can actually smile again. There wasn't much smiling going on last year but it's great to come out through the other side.'
Build Now Foundation founder Stephen Mansfield, who is also part of the Telethon Home Builder organisation group, said the fit-out was possible through the Reclab and Noah's local community, who helped raise funds.
'It's incredible to come in and redo their entire bathroom and now provide him with a big spa bath to be able to relax, have fun, and just be a kid and enjoy that time,' he said.
Telethon will be held on October 18 and 19.
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