Do it for Daisy

Daisy is 5. She is a funny, quirky and creative girl from Sydney's inner west with a bright future ahead of her. She lives with her parents (Stephen and Marianne) and her brother Henry and is due to start Kindergarten this year.

For for past few months she had been complaining of headaches but no one seemed to know what the cause was. Her parents were told she suffered from migraines and they would need to determine what was causing them. Following this advice, Daisy was put on a strict diet to identify if it was food related. Unfortunately, even with strict diet, Daisy did not improve and she continued to have headaches, up to 10 headaches a day, each lasting a couple of minutes.

Stephen and Marianne were struggling day to day seeing their little girl suffering so much and it affected the whole family. Unable to get medical support for a MRI, Stephen managed to get Daisy a MRI through a contact where they found a 4.5cm lesion on the brain.

2 days later after the scan, Daisy underwent a 5-hour surgery at Randwick Children’s Hospital. After surgery, she stayed in ICU where she did not wake as quickly as hoped. The team decided to complete a CT scan to ensure the whole tumour was removed. Fortunately they discovered that it was not the tumour but possibly a reaction to the morphine. After almost a week, Daisy was released into the neuro ward where a parent is required to stay with Daisy 24 hours a day.

Being there 24 hours, every day would be a struggle for any parents but even more so for Stephen and Marianne as both are self-employed. The impact on Stephen has meant he has been unable to write due to the stress. As the school year starts, Marianne’s company which runs an after-school program will start up again. The funds raised will go towards Marianne employing someone to take over her business so that she can be physically be with Daisy. This would be of great benefit to Daisy’s recovery who responds well to the sound of Marianne’s voice. Funds raised will also go towards before and after school care for Henry while Daisy is in hospital, food for the family, petrol for the drive to and from the hospital and any other costs arising from Daisy’s road to recovery.

It is really unknown how long Daisy’s recovery will take and with no family close by to assist, we hope to raise enough funds to give a helping hand to Stephen and Marianne for next 6 months so that they do not have to worry about how to fund supporting their family in this difficult situation.