Starlight's 13,000th Wish

Fifteen-year-old Lara is known for her quirky nature and her wicked sense of humour.

“She loves a good prank and is always up for a laugh,” says her mum Sandra. “She also uses her humour to cope with what’s going on around her.”

When Lara was twelve, she was forced to draw on everything she had when she was shockingly diagnosed with bone cancer in her left leg.

Sandra recalls “Lara had a small painful lump on her leg. We had taken her for a scan on Friday and by the end of the day I had four missed calls from the doctor. When I phoned back, she said ‘Sandra, it looks like a tumour but I don’t know much more. You have an appointment at the hospital at 9am on Monday’. Of course, my world turned upside down then and there.”

Not only were Sandra and her husband Antonio in a state of shock, they faced an agonising wait over the weekend, and a three-hour drive to the hospital for their appointment.

At 9am on Monday, Sandra, Antonio and Lara were greeted by a team of oncologists, nurses and psychologists as their worst fears were confirmed. Lara was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma.

“I just kept thinking, ‘this cannot be real’” says Sandra. “This happens on TV, not to families like ours”.

While Lara was distraught at the news, her signature sense of humour was soon in play. Very quickly, Lara had named her tumour “Fred the Alien”, choosing to create a funny persona for the unwelcome intruder in her leg.

Fortunately, doctors confirmed the cancer had been caught early, and was highly treatable but there was still a long road ahead for the bubbly twelve-year-old.

For the next ten months Lara and Sandra managed to travel home only on the rarest of occasions. Antonio battled travel restrictions in place at the time to reunite with his wife and daughter.

Isolated and away from family and friends back home, Lara would spend Christmas, New Years and Easter on the hospital ward.

As Lara’s treatment got underway, Sandra was not prepared for the terrible side effects Lara would suffer from her chemotherapy.

Through her six rounds of chemo, Lara bravely managed a range of scary and distressing reactions, trying each time to find any bit of humour she could amongst the pain.

Differing from round to round, Lara would suffer dangerously high blood pressure, terrible nausea and vomiting, and soaring temperatures doctors struggled to bring under control.

Devastatingly, Lara even lost her eyesight for several hours after one treatment, causing her to become highly traumatised.

“Knowing the funny kid she is, seeing her sense of helplessness and anxiety was very overwhelming for us,” says Sandra. “Each time she had a terrible reaction to her chemotherapy, we knew she was starting to feel better when her sense of humour was coming back.”

Once her chemo had shrunk “Fred the Alien” to a manageable size, Lara underwent a six-hour operation to remove part of her femur and have a titanium rod inserted in its place.

From here, Lara’s next battle would begin as she had to re-learn to walk all over again.

“Even though this was an unfortunate nightmare for us all, we are still grateful and lucky in the sense that Lara survived it all. You have no idea how fortunate we are, for there are those that unfortunately don't make it through”.

As Lara faced each new challenge head on, Captain Starlight was there to match her love of silliness and fun, and keep her spirits high.

When Lara was too sick to leave her ward, Captain Starlight would visit with a joke or two, and a totally awesome activity pack to help keep her entertained until they met again.

As soon as Lara could leave the ward, it was straight to the Starlight Express Room to join in on all the fun.

For Sandra, Captain Starlight and the Starlight Express Room were a welcome bright light, at a very dark time.

“As soon as you walk into the Starlight Express Room, even though it’s just another room in the hospital, it’s like being a world away” she says. “There’s children smiling everywhere and the Captains are catering to every child’s need. It’s those special actions that mean the world to us as parents.”

Now in remission, Lara is looking forward to heading away shortly for her Starlight Wish — an incredible family holiday to the beautiful Hamilton Island!

For Lara and her family, it will be a wonderful opportunity to recuperate and recharge... and of course have a whole lot of FUN along the way!!