Meet our Wonder Warriors

At her prenatal scan, Lyndsey was told her baby’s heart had not developed properly and he would require immediate and ongoing surgery.

Just like her mum and two big sisters, eight-year-old Savannah has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). EDS is a genetic connective tissue disorder.

Ava had been sick on and off for a couple of months with gastro symptoms and regular visits to emergency couldn’t find out what was wrong. Never did it cross her parent’s mind that it all might be related to brain cancer.

Sophie was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma at just three years old and spent 16 months battling this horrible disease. Her treatment, which went on for almost 2 years, included 12 rounds of radiation, multiple surgeries and a bone marrow transplant.

It wasn’t until aged four that Jaimee was diagnosed with diplegic cerebral palsy and the family’s medical journey took off.

William is a happy go-lucky little boy who loves to clap, wave, talk to his big brother Harry, laugh and roll around on the floor playing with his toys. Looking at him now, at 11 months old, you would never know the tough start he had to life.

When Archer was just five months old, he was diagnosed with meningococcal septicemia W strain. What started as a normal day, ended in every parents’ worst nightmare.

In April 2019, in the emergency room of Bundaberg Hospital, at 11pm Arianna’s parents received the devastating news their daughter had leukaemia.

After months of feeling unwell, unexplained aches and pains, as well as weight loss, Violet, aged six at the time, was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma.

Digby, was like any other little boy, loved riding his bike and playing with his trucks but a recurrent virus, trouble sleeping, and an intolerance of food rang alarm bells for his parents.

Mila’s mum took her to the doctor thinking she just had tonsillitis, only to discover she had leukaemia.

Diagnosed with philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when he was 9, Harry has faced a tough four-year battle to get his life to where it is today.

Edi was a completely healthy, 20 month old when parents Kimberley and Scott noticed a small lump behind his ear. The lump proved to be cancerous.

Identical twin Rebecca had been sick for two weeks, initially doctors thought she had a viral infection but a chest x-ray revealed pneumonia and a collapsed lung.

When Kimberley took her six-year-old son Patrick to Townsville Hospital Emergency Department, she wasn’t prepared for the news that he had leukaemia.

Lilly has spent much of her six years at the Children’s Hospital. She has a rare auto-immune disease, epilepsy, severe anxiety, bronchiectasis and parechovirus and has already had more medical procedures than most adults ever have.

Oscar is five years old and has sadly grown up with the knowledge that any food he eats could harm or even kill him.

Nancellar experienced three blackouts and was extremely pale. After multiple tests, the family learned the devastating news that he had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Ethan and his twin brother Harrison were born unexpectedly early at 27 weeks. The tiny boys were cared for on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, unfortunately after just 8 days of life, little Harrison passed away.

There were many treatments and complications in the first three weeks of Alexander’s life, including a cardiac arrest and a large operation to repair a diaphragmatic hernia.

If Jordan’s phenylketonuria is not treated, phenylalanine, an amino acid in the blood, can build up causing intellectual disability and other serious health problems.

At only nine weeks old, Callum’s doctors discovered he had airway deformities, which meant he had to undergo major surgery to help him breath.

Byron was just 17 months old when his medical journey began, and when that journey is still going at 13 years old, brave doesn’t seem a big enough word to describe this truly amazing young man.

Two-year-old Darcy is a determined little boy, defying all the odds by living with an extremely rare chromosome disorder.

In November 2017, at just six years old, Matilda was diagnosed with B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukeamia.

Seanna loves life. She has the strongest spirit and dances to her own beat like no one is watching. This truly inspirational young lady lights up a room and gives no indication of what she’s been through and how difficult her life can be.

In December 2018 Keynen finished kindy and was looking forward to starting school, but by mid-December he was struck down by a nasty tropical ear infection and a severe case of gastro.

When Amber found out her baby had spina bifida, she felt shock, devastation, grief for the loss of future plans and fear of an unknown future for her daughter.

Esther is seven and was born with albinism. She loves to sing and dance and is always smiling – even through her battle to beat two Wilms’ tumours on her kidney when she was just four years old.

During the late stages of Brianna’s labour, the midwives realised something wasn’t right. When baby William arrived he was having trouble breathing and was airlifted to Brisbane.

Two days after his eight birthday Oliver had a motorbike accident on his family’s farm in northern NSW. He was knocked unconscious and had to be airlifted to Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.

Since she was only four years old, Maddison has been battling a rhabdomyoscaroma – a cancer made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles.

During a scan at just 21 weeks pregnant, Tamara and Simon Jackson received the devastating news that their unborn baby had Hypoplastic left heart complex, a condition which causes the left side of the heart to hardly function.

At just four weeks old, Declan was losing weight and had what his Mum Sharyn described as “a smokers cough”. Tests revealed Declan had cystic fibrosis.

When Renata felt a hard mass on the right side of Phoenix’s tummy, she knew she needed to get him to a doctor. An ultrasound confirmed her one-year-old son had a stage four Wilms’ tumour.

Imagine having to tell your beautiful six-year-old daughter – who has already survived an aggressive cancer once – she has to fight it all over again?

After weeks of no improvement in persistent virus type symptoms, three-year-old Grace was taken to hospital. Her condition was worsening, and her concerned parents knew there was more to it, but never did they think the diagnoses would be leukaemia.