Families from across the west talk to Olivia Condous about how the Royal Children’s Hospital has impacted their lives for good ahead of the Good Friday Appeal on Friday, April 15.
Ali, 6
In May, 2021, when Marlyn Torres rushed her feverish five-year-old son Ali to the Royal Children’s Hospital, she knew something wasn’t right.
“I remember as soon as I went into the nurses area, I just started to cry,” Marlyn said.
“The nurse took one look at me and said ‘Look, mum, whatever it is, we’re gonna work it out,’ and from that moment they took me in and were so supportive.”
About nine hours later, an oncologist gave Marlyn and her partner the news.
“She just said to us, in the sweetest, calmest voice, ‘We have found leukemia cells in your son’s blood’.”
Ali was diagnosed with type B acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a form of blood cancer that is high-risk in young children.
Ali has since spent more than half of the past year at the Royal Children’s Hospital undergoing treatment.
Marlyn said the level of care the hospital provided her son and for her blew her mind.
“The hospital became a second home, we got to know all the nurses and they know my son really well,” she said.
“They are absolutely amazing, every person that we have had contact with from the beginning to now, it’s all been incredible support.”
Ali has responded well to treatment and is now back at school in Caroline Springs, attending three times a week. He had his first family outing at the zoo last month.
Emilia, 23 months
One morning in February, Stephanie Milton noticed her daughter Emilia’s leg was shaking.
After being discharged from Sunshine Hospital, Stephanie knew something was still wrong and took Emilia to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“I never for a moment thought that she had cancer, I was quite distraught but they were very lovely and assured me that everything was going to be OK,”
Emilia was diagnosed with neuroblastoma on her left adrenal gland and had to start treatment immediately.
Stephanie said the oncology team at the hospital went above and beyond to get Emilia’s surgery fast-tracked despite COVID-19 restrictions, even presenting her case at a statewide oncology conference in order to advocate for the lifting of surgery limits.
After a successful surgery, Emilia has been able to return home, where hospital physiotherapists and occupational therapists visit her.
Stephanie said all of the Royal Children’s Hospital staff had been “absolutely amazing”.
“We are so thankful, they’ve been so comforting, they’ve made this journey that’s incredibly hard, just a little bit easier.”
Recently, Emilia has been able to start walking again. She’ll celebrate her first birthday on May 5.
“She loves to dance,” Stephanie said.
“Hopefully she’ll be dancing again soon.”
Nate, 8
Christie Welsh remembers the moment she realised there was something wrong with her premature-born son, Nate.
“I remember going into the hospital one morning and he wasn’t in his crib, he was usually in there but that day he was off in another room and surrounded by doctors,” Christie recalled.
The doctors told Christie they had to quickly transfer her son to the Royal Children’s Hospital because he was “drowning in his own blood”.
Nate was born five-and-a-half weeks premature with three holes in his heart.
Christie said when she finally sat down at the hospital, the doctors and specialists that surrounded her somehow managed to make the room feel calm.
“It’s like they kind of wrapped around us as soon as we got there,” she said.
Shortly after, hospital staff introduced Christie to other parents who also had a baby in a similar condition to help her feel less alone.
“We were immediately able to have that connection with another parent who really understood and that made a massive difference, suddenly it didn’t seem as scary,
“The hospital staff truly understood and connected with us as a family and that made all the difference.”
After a successful series of treatments over the years at the hospital, Nate’s doctor said his heart was completely healed.
Nate loves to go to karate and has loved making lots of friends at his school.
Charlotte, 10 months
Katie Harrington knew that she’d be spending a lot of time at the Royal Children’s Hospital before her daughter Charlotte was born.
Charlotte had a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate, causing her to have an abnormal gap in her mouth.
Due to her condition, Charlotte needed extra support for the first few months of her life and visited the hospital most weeks.
“She’s very, very familiar with everybody there and she loves it there, it’s a wonderful place,” Katie said.
In January, Charlotte gained her “forever smile” with her first surgery.
The Royal Children’s Hospital will support her throughout a lengthy treatment plan for the next 20 years.
“We’re forever grateful to the Royal Children’s Hospital and everyone involved in Charlotte’s care, we know through their continued care she’ll have every opportunity to live life to the fullest,” Katie said.
“She’s already a typical 10-month-old baby girl, she’s bright and bubbly, she’s fascinated with the world around her.”
Lewen, 1
Alecia Aquilina had no idea what a congenital diaphragmatic hernia was until her son Lewen couldn’t breathe when he was born.
Lewen’s intestines had been pushed up into his chest due to a defect in his diaphragm, which meant his heart wasn’t able to function properly.
He was rushed from Bacchus Marsh Hospital to the Royal Children’s Hospital to have vital surgery.
As Alecia had complications from giving birth, she wasn’t able to go with her son, but once she was able to join him she remembered how the hospital staff did everything they could to help her.
“They’re so accommodating, they made sure I had a room at the hospital as I couldn’t walk due to an injury, so I could be close to him,” she said.
“You don’t realise until you have to use them, just how amazing they are.”
Lewen was able to quickly recover and return home to his family after only three weeks.
“We were expecting to be there for months, he definitely kicked all of his goals in recovery,” Alecia said.
“We can’t thank the Royal Children’s Hospital enough for that, because without them we wouldn’t be here.”
Lewen celebrated his first birthday on April 7.
Robyn, 59
Robyn Leeds has the Royal Children’s Hospital to thank for having the opportunity to bring four of her own children into the world.
In August 1970, she was admitted at seven years old with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes and was in and out of the hospital for the next 10 years.
“I remember at night I’d sit up and do jigsaw puzzles with the staff,” Robyn said.
Throughout her time as a patient, she became good friends with one of the diabetes specialist doctors at the hospital, who later became her son’s godfather.
Robyn recalled how she always felt safe during her time at the hospital as a young child.
“It’s just a special place for a child, it was a safe place, I never had any concerns when I was going in there,” she said.
“They are a special breed of nurses, they do an amazing job of looking after other people’s children, the doctors are amazing too.
“I have to say, thank you.”
