The Cure For Life Foundation™ provides funding for a Paediatric Rehabilitation Programme at the Sydney Children’s Hospital.

“The programme offers patients a dedicated allied health team responsible for individually managing children with brain tumours following their discharge from hospital. This ensures the best possible outcomes, both physically and emotionally, for these children and their families” said Virginia Binns, Director of Allied Health.

The idea for the programme originated with the mother of a 4 year-old girl who was operated on for a brain tumour in 2004. She found that there was a gap in the post-operative care system, and it was her desire to formulate a comprehensive programme available to all children - at no cost to the patient - that was the impetus for this initiative.

For more information about the programme, click here to download a flyer.

 Case Study - Lara's Story

Looking at cute four year old Lara from Canberra, it’s hard to imagine that less than one year ago, Lara was diagnosed with a brain tumour.  

Her worried parents took her to their paediatrician when they noticed that she was walking strangely, regularly losing her balance and falling down. An MRI scan at their local hospital in Canberra confirmed her parent’s worst nightmare – Lara was dangerously ill and had a large tumour at the back of her brain in the cerebellum. The pressure of the tumour was building up, causing life-threatening swelling in her brain.  

“Until then, life for us had been perfect. When we heard the news, we were in total shock and utterly devastated. Lara was referred to Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick and we drove through the night to get her to the Hospital and into safe hands,” said Belinda, Lara’s mum.

The following day after extensive tests, doctors explained to the concerned family the seriousness of Lara’s condition and that Lara required immediate surgery to remove the tumour. 

“The day of the operation was the longest day of our lives. Seeing our little girl in the Intensive Care Unit so fragile after surgery was heartbreaking, but our spirits soared when we received the good news – Lara’s operation was a success and the tumour was benign,” said Belinda. 

Lara amazed everyone by her ability to bounce back from surgery. Within four days, she had colour back in her cheeks and was happily playing on the ward. Two weeks later, she was able to go home. 

An important aspect of surviving a brain tumour is the impact it has on the patients and their families when they go home and continue their everyday lives. Whilst the family were delighted that Lara was able to return home to Canberra, they had mixed emotions about how they would cope with the ongoing effects of the removal of the tumour, especially being so far from the Hospital.

The family were introduced to the Brain Rehabilitation Service, sponsored by the Cure for Life Foundation.

“The brain tumour rehabilitation program gave me the confidence to care for Lara at home, despite being far from Sydney,” said Belinda.

 The Service is a huge support and coordinates physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy services for many patients, like Lara and their families.

“We have benefited enormously from their expertise and caring. Without them, I wouldn’t have known what to do. I was so nervous and worried that something might happen to Lara at home. Her appointments in Sydney and regular phone calls with the team helped us to get normality back in our lives and Lara has made so many improvements with her speech and memory,” said Belinda.

“We can’t thank the Hospital and the Brain Tumour Rehabilitation team enough for all they’ve done and continue to do for our Lara.”