Meet one-year-old Audrey.
Shortly after Audrey’s first birthday celebrations, she was sent for emergency brain surgery to remove a tumour when an abnormality was detected during a routine maternal health check.
She has spent the last 7 months as an inpatient for her cancer treatments, the hospital becoming her temporary home.
‘Before Audrey’s surgery, she was reaching all of her milestones, starting to talk and crawl – then everything changed, and we needed to start right back from the beginning,’ said Audrey’s Mum, Maddy.
Maddy, Audrey’s Dad, Sam and her 3-year-old brother, Elliott, juggle life between the hospital and their home, with one person always by Audrey’s side.
‘Days in the hospital can be very long and full of clinical checks. For Audrey, most of the people visiting her room are people coming to poke and prod.’
‘When she sees the Camp Quality Child Life Therapist (CLT) coming, her face lights up and she always smiles and waves – excited to play, read a book and just be a kid.’
‘As a parent, the CLT is a huge support for us too – sometimes we need a boost in energy after a rough day, are too exhausted to play ourselves, or need support to distract her and ourselves during hard procedures.’
‘Seeing Audrey build her endurance for play and watching her and Elliot together doing activities with the support of the CLT has been a very special milestone for our family.’
‘It’s very comforting to know there is always someone around in the hospital to help us bring some joy to the room.’
Thank you, Camp Quality, for your support in funding the Child Life Therapist position in our Monash Children’s Cancer Centre – bringing important moments of joy and play to our special patients and families.
