9yo cancer warrior, Aydin from Hinchinbrook, to race with ‘The Phantom’ at V8 SuperUtes Sydney
At the 2024 V8 SuperUtes in Sydney – the Panasonic Air Conditioning Sydney SuperNight, 19 to 21 July – Jimmy Vernon ‘The Phantom’ will be racing for kids with cancer, with the photo of 9-year-old Aydin, diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia on his helmet. Eight additional families of kids with cancer will join Jimmy and Aydin at the track for the fast-cars fun.
Jimmy Vernon said: “Racing for kids with cancer makes competing on the track incredibly meaningful. Having these amazing little cancer warriors and their families join me at the track for the race weekends is truly an honour – and to see how happy they are when they get to climb around the Purple Rocket – my racing ute, sit in the driver’s seat and go behind the scenes in the pit and walk the grid, is just amazing.”
“I can’t wait to race for Aydin at the Panasonic Air Conditioning Sydney SuperNight. Aydin was among the crew of kids who joined me at last year’s Sydney SuperNight too, he’s a great kid and I can’t wait to see his smile when he sees his face on my helmet!”
Jimmy first teamed up with Kids with Cancer Foundation in February 2020, inspired to help make today easier for the near 800 children diagnosed with cancer every year and their families. As a Kids with Cancer Foundation Ambassador, Jimmy has been racing for Kids with Cancer for several years, inviting children diagnosed with cancer and their families to each of his races around the country for a weekend of behind-the-scenes action and fun, as well as helping with fundraising and other special events.
Kids with Cancer Foundation is committed to making today easier for kids with cancer and their families through providing direct financial support to families, Care Packs, Wigs4Kids, plus funding critical hospital salaries and infrastructure, cancer research and more.
Aydin’s story
In early 2023, Aydin was a normal, happy and bubbly seven-year-old. He loved school, had a lot of friends and was nicknamed ‘Mr Smiley’ because no matter what life threw at him, he was always smiling.
In April 2023, Aydin started waking multiple times every night complaining of leg pain, back pain, a tummy ache, or a headache. At first, Aydin’s Mum, Ilknur, and Dad, Joshua, thought it might be dehydration or growing pains. But on the night of 1 May 2023, Aydin woke with a blood curdling scream and was in incredible pain – his parents thought it might be appendicitis, so rushed Aydin to Fairfield hospital. After an x-ray, it was recommended that Aydin be taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
At The Children’s Hospital, Westmead, Aydin underwent a gruelling number of scans and tests with specialists from different departments. They deemed Aydin the ‘mystery case’. On the evening of 4 May, his parents were advised that during an MRI, Aydin’s right thigh and hip “lit up like a Christmas tree” and that he needed a biopsy, which was done the next day. At 5pm on 5 May 2023, Aydin’s life, and that of his whole family, changed. It was confirmed that Aydin had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
The following day, Aydin’s parents, Ilknur and Joshua, brought his four siblings to hospital to visit and broke the news to them all. While dealing with their own broken hearts, his Mum and Dad now had five little broken hearts to look after as well.
The following week, Aydin received his central line and his chemotherapy started immediately. It was a tough first month, Aydin had a stubborn infection in his central line which led to a 30 day stay in hospital.
“Once the initial shock of the diagnosis and his pain was under control, Aydin returned to his normal self. He was smiling and making jokes and being his silly self. He is so brave and throughout this has stayed so strong, which has helped us be strong,” said Ilknur and Joshua.
“The only time we saw Aydin get a little emotional was when he had his first hair loss, otherwise he always had a smile on his face. He never complained, never put up a fight, never said ‘but why’.”
From May 2023 to now, it has been a bumpy journey. Aydin has had a number of hospital stays, with the most severe incident in December 2023 when his little body was riddled with ulcers and he couldn’t eat or drink – Aydin needed to be fed through a nutrition bag and spent 2.5 weeks in hospital.
Although his treatment is ongoing until May 2025, Aydin had his central line removed in January 2024 and has been deemed cancer free since.
“We are beyond proud of Aydin’s resilience, bravery and selflessness he displayed throughout this journey – his insistence of still being a normal kid, continuing to want to go to school and do day to day activities. All of our children have stayed strong and have bonded together during this time, showing incredible support for each other. Aydin’s brother, Adem, even recently participated in Kids with Cancer Foundation’s Wigs 4 Kids program, cutting off his hair to fundraise as well as make a wig for a child with cancer, and to show his brother his support,” added Ilknur and Joshua.
Follow Jimmy Vernon’s racing action at https://www.facebook.com/JimmyVernonRacing
