Seven-year-old Arlo’s Lego creations are out of this world! Once he’s mastered the picture on the box, he sets about building his own creative masterpiece brick by brick.
Arlo’s a really fun, super clever and creative kid. He has a great imagination and the most generous, kind-hearted personality.
She says it’s bittersweet Arlo is mature beyond his years because of everything he’s had to endure since he was born.
At just five weeks old, Arlo was diagnosed with Laryngomalacia - a birth defect that results in a partial blockage of the voice box and causes breathing and feeding difficulties.
The severity of Arlo’s condition wasn’t known until he was about 18 months old when he underwent surgery. Doctors then discovered that Arlo also has Tracheomalacia – a windpipe disorder that causes the airways to collapse.
Arlo requires a nasogastric feeding tube for the bulk of his nutritional needs and lives with Autism, ADHD and sensory processing conditions.
While hospital has been a constant part of Arlo’s life, Captain Starlight has been there to bring a smile to Arlo’s face.
“Arlo has a big fear of hospital so thankfully we discovered Starlight on our first admission when Arlo met the amazing Captain Starlight in the Starlight Express Room,” Georgia recalls.
Arlo has had seven surgical procedures since he was 18 months old and needs to be in hospital every two months to have his feeding tube changed. He also has weekly feeding and occupational therapy sessions and ongoing psychology appointments.
Each time Arlo’s admitted to hospital, he looks forward to playing games and doing drawings with Captain Starlight. One of his happiest moments in hospital was ‘movie night’ in the Starlight Express Room watching Shrek 2 and making Shrek-themed arts and crafts with the Captains.
Arlo wakes up every morning during a hospital admission begging to go to the Starlight Express Room! All he wants to do is see the Captains as they make him so happy.
Arlo’s health conditions impact so many aspects of his life. Due to fatigue, he’s not able to attend full time school and needs to carefully manage his activities to ensure enough rest and recovery time. His feeding tube needs weekly tape changes and he needs to be attached to a feeding pump multiple times a day which makes routines difficult to maintain.
“Having the feeding tube takes its toll on him physically and the constant therapies and hospital admissions are mentally exhausting,” Arlo’s mum said.
Sadly, there isn't a cure for Arlo’s conditions and Georgia said she, along with his doting grandparents do all they can to help him to learn how to manage them. The family take it step by step and celebrate every one of Arlo’s achievements. Having his best dog friend Maisie by Arlo’s side helps too!
Georgia is so thankful Captain Starlight is there to ease the stress of every hospital admission and to bring Arlo the happiness he needs to cope with his ongoing treatments.
Without Starlight, hospital would be unbearable. Arlo gets stronger and feels better more quickly when he’s able to laugh, make jokes and dance around with the Captains. The joy Starlight brings to sick kids is invaluable.
Arlo has just found out the exciting news that he’s been granted his Starlight Wish. He can’t wait to go to on an amazing once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia Zoo to meet all his favourite animals.
Georgia said planning Arlo’s wish has brought them all so much joy. “This Starlight Wish means everything to Arlo. This is an opportunity he would never have got otherwise, and it also means the world to us as a family.”
