At an end of year birthday party with all his kindergarten friends, Vincent was accidently hit in the tummy with a ball.
His mum Claire said it seemed to hurt him more than it would normally and then a lump appeared in his stomach.
When Vincent started vomiting the following morning, they went to the GP who sent him for an urgent ultrasound.
“When the scans came back, our world unravelled,” Claire said. “They’d found tumours and we were sent straight to the children’s hospital.”
At the hospital, a CT scan revealed multiple tumours in Vincent’s right kidney, liver and lungs. Sadly, biopsies showed that Vincent had Stage 4 Wilms Tumour (Nephroblastoma).
Just two days later, Vincent started chemo.
“I immediately stopped working and we moved to be closer to the hospital and to allow Vincent to attend hospital school. Our lifestyle changed completely and we focused entirely on treatment and Vincent getting better,” Claire said.
After 12 gruelling weeks of chemo, Vincent then needed to undergo surgery to remove his right kidney and the tumours on his liver.
Before he got sick, Vincent had lots of hobbies and loved footy, gymnastics and swimming. Claire said it was hard for their little boy to suddenly be away from home in the unfamiliar world of hospital.
“Emotionally, the hardest part for Vincent was being isolated from friends and family and not being able to do what he’d always been used to. Physically his treatment left him exhausted and feeling so unwell.”
Amid so much sadness, the family found moments of happiness with Captain Starlight.
“The Captain Starlights visited Vincent when he was first diagnosed and told us about the Starlight Express Room. Since then, we’ve had so many fun experiences - one of Vincent’s favourite things to do there is play Smash Bros with the Captains.”
Following his surgery, Vincent restarted chemotherapy as well as 13 radiation treatments.
Throughout the toughest days, Captain Starlight was there with fun and games to distract Vincent from the challenges of hospital. He loved playing hide and seek with the Captains on the wards and meeting other kids in the Starlight Express Room.
As a family, the Starlight Express Room was also somewhere Vincent and his mum and dad John could spend time together away from the wards and forget about hospital for a while.
On days when Vincent was unable to leave his hospital bed, he could still join in the fun of the Captain’s quizzes and bingo watching Starlight’s hospital channel. He even made and broadcast his very own short film!
“Without Starlight, hospital would have been a lot tougher with not so many smiles or so much laughter. It makes the days that are dark and hard that bit brighter,” Claire said.
Thankfully, Vincent has finished his treatment and was excited to slowly start back at school. Claire said they couldn’t be prouder of him still being “the happy, curious and funny six-year-old he’s always been.”
“Starlight brings back joy and happiness to kids that are going through so much and it makes them feel lighter. Starlight gives a child their childhood back while going through the worst days. Smiling and being positive definitely makes the hospital experience a better one and makes it easier to keep going back.”
