SLEEPLESS nights are over for a Jimboomba family who raised $100,000 in five months to secure life saving brain surgery for their nine-year-old daughter.
Former Jimboomba Thunder player, Charli Berghauser, was diagnosed with a pineal cystic tumor in August 2018.
Charli suffers from chronic headaches and blurry vision due to the blockage of cerebrospinal fluid to her brain.
The medical condition took a long time to diagnose with Charli recalling the worst headache of her life in October 2017.
Sydney-based surgeon Charlie Teo is one of the few doctors in the world qualified to perform the required brain surgery, but the $100,000 cost was outside the family’s budget.
Charli’s mother, Kassandra Humphry, said a number of private donations over recent weeks pushed the fundraising total over $100,000 on Monday, February 4.
Ms Humphry said Charli’s surgery date was scheduled for February 18.
“I have spoken to a lot of people who have had the surgery done and they had instant relief,” she said.
“The headaches go, the vision gets better and the fluid flows the way it is supposed to.
“Charli has headaches constantly but has a really high pain tolerance. When she says she has a headache it would be about an eight or a nine for us (on the pain scale).”
Ms Humphry said it had not been an easy five months for the family and thanked Chicks Conquering Cancer President Kathy Smith for supporting the fundraising effort.
“We had a lot of sleepless nights, frustration and anxiety, which puts a lot of stress on the kids,” Ms Humphry said.
“It is scary that we all had to raise the money.”
Charli said she looked forward to playing football again and performing better at school.
The family is continuing to fundraise in support of five-year-old Perth girl, Ella, who was also diagnosed with a symptomatic pineal cystic brain tumour.
Ms Humphry thanked the community and various Jimboomba businesses.
“They have been a massive support system and we say thank you to everyone who allowed money tins in their shops,” she said.
“Thank you to Men of League Foundation and A B Patterson College for all the support and donations.”
