Three-year-old Thea is described by her parents as “an absolute firecracker”! Her mum Maree says she has “spunk and cheek beyond her years, and an energy that draws people in”.

Thea has always been a happy and healthy little girl, which is why her dad Jon was so surprised to notice a ‘white glow’ in her right eye during a game. A late-night Google caused his heart to sink, and fear for what lay ahead.

“My happy, healthy (or so I thought) little girl was living her best life. As far as we knew she was 100% healthy. But after seeing this ‘glow’, I knew she wasn’t. We called her pediatrician and made the first available appointment for the following day.”

Shockingly for Jon and Maree, within 24 hours Thea had been admitted to hospital and diagnosed with cancer. The “white glow” was Retinoblastoma.

“We were shocked, terrified, and totally broken” recalls Maree. All of a sudden, instead of playing with their energetic little girl, Thea’s parents were fearing for her life.

Just 10 days after the initial diagnosis, Thea underwent the surgery have her eye removed.

It was a terrible whirlwind of stress and grief for the whole family. The distress of losing an eye and learning to live with her new “special eye” was extremely hard on Thea.

But throughout her entire ordeal, Captain Starlight was there to comfort Thea, and make her smile.

“I can’t even begin to imagine what our experience would have been like without the Captains…and I don’t want to!” says Maree.

Thea met Captain Starlight at her very first hospital admission, and they have been there to greet Thea and her family at every admission since.

When Thea faced the fear of her first surgery, Captain Starlight sang to her as she was put to sleep. And Captain Starlight was back by Thea’s side throughout her recovery to help her deal with the pain and stress of losing her eye.

For Thea, the most difficult part of her treatment is the painful stinging eyedrops she has at every checkup. But as long as Captain Starlight is there to support her with the positive distraction she needs, Thea is always happy to go along.

In fact, despite the distress and sting of her eyedrops, Maree happily admits Thea LOVES going to the hospital!

“She associates the hospital, her treatment, her checkups, everything, as a super fun and positive experience that she would do all over again as long as Captain Starlight is there”.

And Thea isn’t the only member of her family who loves a trip to hospital. Thea and her sisters, Henny and Adair, all insist on a visit to the Starlight Express Room at every opportunity. For the young girls, instead of being scary, mum Maree says they think of hospital as an exciting place to visit.

The girls love to blow bubbles with the Captains, “play buggy”, and of course to sing and dance along with Captain Starlight. One of Thea’s favourite stories to tell is when she made her first ever TV appearance…with a live interview on Starlight TV!

For Jon and Maree, Thea’s experience has been nothing short of incredible. They are so thankful for the difference Captain Starlight has made to their young daughter’s cancer journey saying “they’ve made the impossible possible by turning cancer into something fun”.

To those who support Starlight in bringing happiness to sick kids like Thea, they would like to say;

We are forever thankful to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, and to each and every supporter. The Starlight Captains fought for Thea’s happiness, her memories, and her innocence. They took what could have been a scary and traumatic time, and turned it into something fun. Knowing she isn't traumatised and is actually living her best life during what should be the most awful time, makes me so incredibly grateful and humbled. There is no price that can be put on that. Thank you.