Welcome to Charlotte’s website.

15^th August, 2009

Last week we were given the heart-breaking news that our beautiful little girl, “Charlie ’Bel”, had developed a brain tumour. After being referred by our GP for further assessment by a paediatric specialist and a subsequent ultrasound, she was immediately admitted to the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick.

She was given a general anaesthetic and an MRI to determine the nature of the tumour. At this stage little is known about the type of tumour she has, other than that it is large (one-third the size of her brain) and located in the right front temporal lobe – which, we are told, is in a “good” place. Today, Charlotte is undergoing a complicated and lengthy surgery (eight hours and still going) to remove as much, if not all, of the tumour as possible. We will know more once she is out of theatre and pathology results come back, which could take between three days and three weeks for a full report.

While we are (trying to be) realistic about how difficult this situation is for Charlie, we are very hopeful that she will be okay. Her short hospital stay has already provided lots of challenges for our 15-month-old, but she’s proving to be strong. Despite having to endure hourly obs, painful needles and steroid-induced starvation, she still managed to turn on her show-stopping smiles for us yesterday before her operation (photos to come soon!).

The hospital staff here at Randwick have been absolutely fantastic. They have been captured by Charlotte’s winning grin and gentle nature. It helps to know that she is under the expert care of top neurosurgeon Dr Erica Jacobson and an excellent team of neurologists, who are doing everything they can to make Charlie well again. We have been bombarded with medical terminology, possible recovery scenarios and some difficult statistics. However, we are putting our faith in our Creator God and the truly brilliant work of the surgeons.

This site has been created to help us communicate with you all about what is happening with Charlotte’s treatment and progress, and to allow family and friends to see photos, read updates and post messages. A special thanks to Peta for her technological prowess and Vanessa for helping us post the information.

We have been inundated with phone calls and text messages and we thank you for all your thoughts, kind words and loving support; it gives us extra strength. Each day has been exhausting and all-encompassing, hence we have little time to return your wonderful messages, but please be assured that they are most appreciated. It is a great comfort to know that Charlotte is so well loved, as this will help get her and us through.  

Love

Beck, Rod, Madeleine and Charlotte xo

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