'I'M MY BROTHER'S CARER at age 12'

WHEN HER TWIN WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, CARLEE STEPPED UP TO HELP

- Brigid Auchettl

Growing up, twins Hayden and Carlee Clements were inseparable. The siblings had rarely spent a second apart until their lives changed in an instant, when Hayden was diagnosed with a brain tumour at age six.

“It was very scary,” recalls Carlee, now 12.

“I was young, but I knew it was serious because he went to hospital, and I hardly saw him … we’d never been apart, not even for an hour, until he was diagnosed.”

Overnight, Carlee became her twin’s biggest support and had to grow up fast to be there for her mum, Simone, 47, dad Richard, 52, and older brother Riley, 16.

“My family were all separated. Hayden and Mum were at the hospital or heading to appointments and I had to grow up very quickly and start helping out,” Carlee tells New Idea.