When 17-year-old Ethan Monck walked out of his local Macca’s store and told his mum Mindy he’d just been offered his first job, tears streamed from her eyes.
“I did cry some happy tears,” Mindy admits to New Idea. “The smile on his face just told me he’s achieved something that he didn’t honestly think that he was going to achieve because of all his health issues.”
Ethan may be young, but in his short life, he’s endured more struggles than most, having been diagnosed with kidney cancer as a baby and undergone a gruelling health battle in the 16 years since.
Ethan’s mum was overwhelmed when he got the job at McDonald’s. (Credit: Supplied)
While at first his prognosis seemed hopeful, Ethan relapsed at age 12 months, and his cancer spread aggressively. By the time he was 18 months, the little boy was facing the fight of his life.
Mindy remembers that Christmas like it was yesterday. Instead of excitedly waiting for Santa and tearing wrapping paper off his toys like other little boys his age, Ethan was heavily sedated, having just undergone gruelling surgery at Monash Children’s Hospital, 200km away from the family home in Sale.
“Christmas Day was quite a hard day for us,” an emotional Mindy explains.
“Ethan wasn’t able to open his eyes or open his presents. It was his first Christmas where he could acknowledge it. He should have been able to open those gifts, [have] us see the happiness on his face, but unfortunately, that wasn’t our reality.”
With Mindy and her husband David living hours from the medical support their son so desperately needed, the couple were offered free accommodation inside the Ronald McDonald House in the grounds of the hospital.
Ethan’s mum is sharing his story in support of McHappy Day. (Credit: Supplied)
At Monash, the house has two self-contained units and 13 rooms, which can be configured to accommodate families. It means those living there while their child undergoes hospital treatment can receive support from caring volunteers and other families who are going through similar experiences.
That Christmas, the selfless volunteers at Ronald McDonald House put on a lunch – it’s a gift that Mindy will forever remember.
“Dave and I were able to go away from the hospital and try and find some normalcy,” Mindy tells New Idea. “Amongst the devastation that we were going through, that was the true meaning of Christmas spirit that day. What that house provided was just beyond words.”
The Monck family’s deep connection with Ronald McDonald House has only grown in the intervening years. Ethan has spent more than 600 nights there, and to this day says it “smells like home”.
“We all hear about the house – like it’s not an unknown thing – but the biggest thing is you don’t truly understand what it means until you know someone who has to use it or you have to use it yourself,” Mindy explains. “I’ll never forget walking through those doors the very first day, and just how welcoming everyone was.”
The volunteers have been there for Mindy, David, and Ethan’s sister Lilly, 14, during milestone moments and heartbreaking ones – including just last year when a new cancer left Ethan deeply unwell once more.
The youngster proved to be a fighter again. While his treatment continues, the teenager has defied the odds and displays a passion for learning.
He has a fascination with deep space and astrophotography, and is building and programming his own robot from scratch – something that confounds his proud mum.
And when Mindy shared Ethan’s story at the RMHC Gala Ball, it led to that first job that made his mum break down in tears of joy.
The licensees of McDonald’s in the Monck family’s hometown of Sale happened to be in the audience during Mindy’s speech and, after learning of Ethan’s fighting spirit, they asked him to interview for a role there.
When the licensees of the Sale store heard Ethan’s story, they offered him an interview. (Credit: Supplied)
“He was so nervous to do the interview,” Mindy admits. “And I’m the mum that you’d think through what we’ve gone through, I’d be overshadowing him. I didn’t. I actually dropped him off at the store, and I said, ‘Good luck. ’ He goes, ‘Are you coming in?’ I went, ‘No, Ethan, this is, this is your, your thing. You have to do this on your own.’”
And indeed Ethan nailed the interview – securing himself a day a week’s work in the store kitchen grilling burgers – something his former chef mum has prepped him well for.
Mindy was “excited and proud” to watch her son go off for his first day on the job, while Ethan, understandably, was nervous.
“I’ve always told my children that if you feel nervous, it means you care about something,” the mum adds.
Today, Ethan’s juggling treatment, work, and his Year 11 studies, and his can-do attitude to life, is an inspiration.
“I’m just so proud of the person he has become through everything that he’s done,” Mindy shares.” He’s overcome so many challenges, and he’s become the best version of himself. Achieves everything, you know, to such a high standard. And I just want him to, you know, sometimes be kinder to himself.”
Mindy is proudly sharing her story to support McHappy Day 2025, which takes place on Saturday, 15 November, and is the largest annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), which provides essential accommodation and support for families with children who are ill or injured.
Katherine Davison
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