Getting ready to celebrate her 13th birthday, Matilda never imagined the devastating turn her life was about to take.
Doctors discovered a cancerous tumour on her spine and Matilda was immediately flown to Perth for urgent surgery.
“The shock of hearing the words spinal sarcoma floored us. It was impossible to imagine how we could move forward,” her mum Natasha said.
Tragically this was Natasha and Scott’s second child to have cancer after Matilda’s little sister Danika was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2020.
Suddenly Matilda’s fun-filled days of being with her friends, doing crafts and playing with sisters Danika and Georgia became a distant memory.
Hospital and treatment took over.
“So much changed in that moment, it was all such a shock,” Matilda said.
Matilda endured a gruelling 24 hours of surgery followed by months on end of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
She was cared for by a team of 50 specialists and the world of hospital was isolating an overwhelming. The family had to relocate to Perth for 14 months and being so far away from home took its toll.
Matilda’s treatment left her feeling sick and exhausted. She had mobility issues and had to go through the long and painful process of learning how to walk again.
“The hardest part was losing all my hair at age 13,” Matilda said. “Then on top of that I had to relearn everyday things like riding a bike.”
During the ongoing pain and stress of her treatment, Matilda discovered Livewire, and her hospital experience became instantly brighter.
“Livewire has been amazing. I love seeing them on the ward and they always recognise me straight away. It makes such a difference having familiar friendly faces in hospital.”
Matilda’s favourite parts of Livewire are the Friday quizzes, chatting to the team and sharing jokes.
“They knew I love Guy Sebastain so always include that in the quiz!” Matilda laughs. “Hospital would be so long and boring without their friendly faces,” she said.
Livewire has been a great source of relief for Natasha as mum too see the positive impact it has on her daughter.
“The Livewire team provides Matilda with a sense of connection and a way to express herself confidently. They know her so well and always make her smile and that helps her cope with hospital.”
One of Matilda’s happiest Livewire moments was when she and her sister won a special combined prize –they were thrilled to discover it was a large remote-controlled Lego truck.
“We got to build it together and it took us days to finish! It gave us a fun connection as sisters when we were isolated, and it holds so many great memories for us.”
Matilda, now 14 still faces ongoing treatment in hospital in Perth as well as hydro and physiotherapy treatments.
“Life revolves around treatment and going to and from Perth, but I’m much happier in hospital and have more fun in my life with Livewire there.”
Outside of the demands of hospital and treatment, Matilda loves painting, playing with her beloved Dachshund Sebastian and the cool fidget spinners from Livewire!
“We are so grateful to the Livewire team and their ongoing support helping to keep us entertained and distracted from everything that’s going on in hospital. We prioritise our children’s’ health and happiness above all else and take every opportunity for fun, and that’s exactly what Livewire delivers,” Natasha said.
