Wally to the rescue

Wally is Deswik’s virtual presence robot, typically used for involving remote employees in team meetings. In 2017, Wally spent some time with 10-year old Brodie, a student at Ferny Grove State School who was battling leukemia and undergoing chemotherapy.

All too often, children receiving treatment for cancer become disconnected from their friends and community as their compromised immune system requires them to remain isolated. Such was the case for Brodie, whose treatment meant he had missed 17 weeks of school.

We heard about Brodie’s fight through our very own Nick Anderson (Team Leader – GeoTools), whose son is Brodie’s classmate. After seeing the awesome impact Wally was having here at Deswik, Nick put two and two together, and put Deswik in touch with Brodie’s family and school.

Without hesitation, we relocated Wally to Ferny Grove State School so that Brodie was able to log in from home or the hospital and interact with the kids and teachers from his class. This helped Brodie to remain connected with his schoolwork and friends, participate in class discussions and attend reading groups and meetings.

Brodie is now in remission and attending school once again. Deswik are proud to have been involved in making this transition as seamless as possible for Brodie and his family. We admire Brodie’s strength and wish him all the best in his schooling.