SARA Lynch was 11-years-old when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
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Two years later, she’s fighting fit and back on her horse, Eddie.
And, she hopes to ride him in the Queen’s Baton Relay.
“I’m really excited,” Sara said.
“It helped me a lot getting on the horse, feeling confident that I’d be riding all the time when I was finished chemo.”
Toward the end of her treatment, Sara made the decision to compete in Walcha.
To everyone’s surprise she took out more than one first place.
“I didn’t know I would come first,” Sara said.
“Eddie was pretty fat at the time because I hadn’t been riding him.”
Dad, Matt Lynch nominated Sara for the Queen’s Baton Relay.
Taking part in the relay is the family’s way of saying thank you to the community for their ongoing support.
“After you’ve been really sick as a young kid it’s important to know you can still do it, you can get your strength back and have something to look forward to,” Mr Lynch said.
“You’ve just got to plough through it, Sara has gotten back to something she loves doing – she persisted even though she was crook and she got there.”
Sara was diagnosed with cancer after a spate of viruses, a double ear infection and extensive bruising.
Just 15 seconds into her consultation at the paediatricians the doctor said he thought she might have leukemia.
The family then spent the next five months in hospital in Sydney.
Mum, Lynda Lynch said Sara didn’t complain once about her treatment.
It’s her fighting spirit she hopes will inspire the community during the relay.
“We’re really proud of her,” she said.
“It shows her spirit and determination.”
The Queen’s Baton Relay will pass through Armidale on February 1.
Sara is one of 20 community figures to be selected as a baton bearer, and will start off the relay.
Hopefully, on the back of Eddie.