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My name is Daniel. This is a fundraiser for my daughter Theodora, who turns four on July 23rd, 2026, and who has spent a significant portion of her short life in hospital.
Theo was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain cancer in July 2024, two days after her second birthday. The cancer is called CNS Embryonal Tumour with PLAGL2 Amplification. It belongs to a newly described family of tumours so rare that the largest published clinical study of this type involved just 18 children worldwide. There is no established treatment protocol. Her oncology team are working from the thinnest possible evidence base, and doing so with extraordinary dedication.
For six months, Theo underwent the highest doses of chemotherapy a two year old can tolerate. Eight different drugs. Four brain operations. Upwards of fifteen blood transfusions. Countless lumbar punctures, dressing changes, blood tests, MRI scans, and hours beyond counting in waiting rooms and clinic chairs and hospital beds. She spent roughly two weeks of every month in hospital for the better part of a year.
She did all of it with a humour, a dignity, and a love for the things of life that left everyone around her more awake to the fact of being alive.
In May 2026, after 15 months of remission, the cancer returned.
On June 1st she had her fourth brain operation. The tumour was removed completely. Her most recent MRI is clear. She begins six weeks of daily focal radiotherapy on June 29th, thirty three sessions in total.
After sustained engagement with the primary research literature and with an international team of specialists in Germany who are now reviewing her case, we were able to advocate successfully for a more targeted radiation approach than was originally recommended. This matters enormously for her long term development and we are grateful for every clinician who listened.
I am taking indefinite unpaid leave from my job once Theo begins treatment. I do not plan to return while she needs me.
What Stacy and I want to do with that time is simple. We want to fill Theo's days with as much joy, wonder, discovery, and wildness as possible. Not because her future is uncertain, but because of what she has already been through and because of who she already is.
Our dream, once she is cleared after radiation, is to buy or rent a van and drive around Australia together as a family.
Theo has a deep and serious love of animals. We want to take her to every zoo, wildlife sanctuary, and nature reserve we can find. We want her to see tall trees and wide lakes and reefs and beaches and as much of this country as we can fit into the time we have. She has earned it many times over.
The funds raised will go toward:
Living expenses for our family while I am on unpaid leave, bills, groceries, petrol, and the ordinary fabric of a life that does not stop being necessary because extraordinary things are happening inside it.
The van trip around Australia, vehicle, fuel, accommodation, and every animal sanctuary we can find.
Specialist educational and neuropsychological assessment and support as Theo develops after radiation, which is not always covered by Medicare and can be significant in cost.
Therapeutic and integrative care for Theo's wellbeing during and after treatment, rooted in the arts, nature, and the full life of her imagination and embodied experience.
Contingency for whatever comes next, including potential access to clinical trials through the international research group currently reviewing her molecular profile, and palliative care if that becomes the path we walk.
I have attached a detailed FAQ and information sheet for anyone who wants to understand more about Theo's condition, the science of her cancer, the approach Stacy and I are taking to her care, and the range of futures we may be walking toward. I have tried to be honest about all of it, including the hardest parts, because the people who love Theo deserve transparency and not just comfort.
For those who supported us two years ago when Theo was first diagnosed: you made it possible for both her parents to be fully present with her through the hardest months of her life. There are no words for what that meant. Thank you, from the bottom of everything.
We love receiving messages of hope, love, encouragement, and prayer. They reach us and they matter more than you know.