A brave Sunshine Coast girl is preparing for urgent brain surgery in a bid to prevent her from becoming paralysed by a debilitating health condition.
Seven-year-old Quinn Charnock has been diagnosed with Arnold-Chiari malformation and syringomyelia – two serious neurological conditions that are threatening her mobility and causing severe headaches, nausea, muscle weakness and more.
The surgery will aim to alleviate some of Quinn’s symptoms, but will require her to have about five days in hospital and six weeks off school.
A fundraiser has been set up for Quinn’s parents, Bayden Charnock and Emma Powell, by her aunty Rebekah Charnock, to help them take time off work during their daughter’s recovery.
The family also includes Quinn’s sister Addisyn, 8, and brother Layne, 4. They moved to Sippy Downs from Broken Hill last year.
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Rebekah said doctors had struggled for years to diagnose Quinn’s symptoms, before an MRI on her brain revealed the cause.
“Quinn was approximately three years old when they first noticed symptoms,” she said.
“She was frequently nauseous, vomiting and had excruciating headaches that saw her become a shell of herself when she was having an episode. These episodes became more frequent and gradually, over time, they started to notice more symptoms such as Quinn feeling dizzy, muscle weakness, urinary incontinence and pins and needles.
“Quinn had numerous appointments with doctors and specialists in Adelaide and Broken Hill trying to find the cause of her symptoms. She was tested for countless things such as Crohn’s disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal issues and more but they all came back negative.
“It wasn’t until Bayden and Emma moved to the Sunshine Coast where they were able to find an amazing doctor that suggested an MRI on her brain and that is when they found the cause to her symptoms that she has been fighting for the last three or four years.
“A lot of her symptoms were in line with something gastrointestinal due to the vomiting and nausea, so that was the main focus. It wasn’t until they had her brain looked at that they finally got the answer.
“Bayden and Emma have been Quinn’s greatest advocates. As parents you know when something isn’t right so we are thankful that they kept pushing for answers.”
The fundraising page set up by Rebekah explains that the Arnold-Chiari malformation involves a structural abnormality where brain tissue extends into the spinal canal, while syringomyelia is a condition where fluid-filled cavities (syrinx) form within the spinal cord. These syrinx can grow and damage the spinal cord by compressing nerve fibres that transmit information to and from the brain. If left untreated, Quinn could become paralysed and lose complete function of her body.
Rebekah said Quinn, who is in Year 2, had shown great courage despite her being restricted in what activities she could do, such as gymnastics or “roughhousing with her sister and brother”.
“Quinn is the most resilient child. She takes everything in her stride and always puts on a brave face, even when she is feeling scared and anxious,” she said.
“Quinn has taken every blood test, scan and doctor’s appointment without complaint, but most recently she was required to have a 90-minute MRI scan which terrified her but she managed to get it done.
“As you could imagine, Quinn’s parents are beside themselves and are filled with constant worry about Quinn’s future. As this is lifelong condition for Quinn, there is no cure, we are praying that the surgery is successful and can alleviate some of Quinn’s symptoms.
“Quinn’s older sister Addisyn and younger brother Layne are her biggest cheerleaders and are obviously also very scared for their sister as they see what she has to go through every day and that she is constantly having to miss out of fun family outings due to feeling unwell.
“They miss her being able to join in.”
Rebekah, who still lives in Broken Hill, said she was inspired to start the fundraiser because she felt so helpless being so far away.
“I felt that this was an opportunity to be able help out and ease the financial burden so that they can focus solely on Quinn and her two siblings during this time,” she said.
“I set the goal to $10,000 but we are really appreciative of any amount that we can raise.
“Quinn is expected to have around six weeks off of school to recover if everything goes well. With no family nearby to help out, Bayden and/or Emma will have to take the whole time off work to provide 24/7 care for Quinn.
“Quinn’s parents have been told to expect her recovery to be one of the most painful things that she will go through. By having these extra funds, Bayden and Emma will be able to take the time they need off of work to give Quinn the best possible care they can.
“They also plan on using the funds for things such as orthopaedic pillows that have been recommended to them from the specialist to best support her head and neck in recovery.”
Rebekah said Quinn’s surgery at Queensland Children’s Hospital had been moved to a category 1 (urgent) from a category 2 and she should have the operation within 30 days.
You can donate to the GoFundMe campaign here.
