Perth mum reveals how son's brain tumour was nearly missed - and how ‘Starlight heroes' lit up his world again
The only hint something may have been wrong was when six-year-old Mateo Domazetovski began squinting and rubbing his eyes.
He loved reading and his mother, Ceffra, had also noticed he was holding his books closer and closer to his face.
'I took him for an eye test and three opticians said nothing was wrong,' she said.
'But I just felt something wasn't right so I went to my GP and said, 'I'm concerned,' and she referred me to an ophthalmologist who found optic swelling and said, 'You need to get Mateo to PCH now'.'
'Looking back, he was rubbing his eyes because of the pressure and swelling caused by the tumour,' Mrs Domazetovski said.
Brave Mateo spent five weeks in hospital, including on Christmas Day, and Mrs Domazetovski said it was heartbreaking for the family not to be together at home celebrating Christmas over lunch and dinner with extended family.
She said she will be forever grateful to The Starlight Foundation for 'lifting the whole family's spirits' when they felt their world was crumbling around them.
'When Mateo was in the Intensive Care Unit, the Starlight people came in and Mateo's face just lit up,' she said.
'They were dressed in their bright costumes, gave him gifts and they were just so bright and bubbly.
'When Mateo was well enough to go down to the Starlight Room in the hospital, where he could do lots of arts and crafts, he ended up falling in love with playing Uno because the Starlight people taught him the game and would sit and play it with him for as long as he wanted to.
'Now Uno is something we play together as a family.'
Starlight Children's Foundation chief executive Louise Baxter said Captain Starlight — the superhero of fun who lit up Mateo's world in hospital — visits more than 550 seriously ill children on wards across Australia every day.
Starlight supports 33,000 seriously ill children in Australia and marks
Starlight Day
on Tuesday.
The foundation is hoping to raise $1.3 million by the end of June to help keep its hospital programs running nationally.
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Perth mum reveals how son's brain tumour was nearly missed - and how ‘Starlight heroes' lit up his world again
The only hint something may have been wrong was when six-year-old Mateo Domazetovski began squinting and rubbing his eyes. He loved reading and his mother, Ceffra, had also noticed he was holding his books closer and closer to his face. 'I took him for an eye test and three opticians said nothing was wrong,' she said. 'But I just felt something wasn't right so I went to my GP and said, 'I'm concerned,' and she referred me to an ophthalmologist who found optic swelling and said, 'You need to get Mateo to PCH now'.' 'Looking back, he was rubbing his eyes because of the pressure and swelling caused by the tumour,' Mrs Domazetovski said. Brave Mateo spent five weeks in hospital, including on Christmas Day, and Mrs Domazetovski said it was heartbreaking for the family not to be together at home celebrating Christmas over lunch and dinner with extended family. She said she will be forever grateful to The Starlight Foundation for 'lifting the whole family's spirits' when they felt their world was crumbling around them. 'When Mateo was in the Intensive Care Unit, the Starlight people came in and Mateo's face just lit up,' she said. 'They were dressed in their bright costumes, gave him gifts and they were just so bright and bubbly. 'When Mateo was well enough to go down to the Starlight Room in the hospital, where he could do lots of arts and crafts, he ended up falling in love with playing Uno because the Starlight people taught him the game and would sit and play it with him for as long as he wanted to. 'Now Uno is something we play together as a family.' Starlight Children's Foundation chief executive Louise Baxter said Captain Starlight — the superhero of fun who lit up Mateo's world in hospital — visits more than 550 seriously ill children on wards across Australia every day. Starlight supports 33,000 seriously ill children in Australia and marks Starlight Day on Tuesday. The foundation is hoping to raise $1.3 million by the end of June to help keep its hospital programs running nationally.
