I'm walking All Night Long! But I need your help

“ALL NIGHT LONG” is a walk in support of Queensland Children’s Hospital and Ronald Macdonald House. This October, I am walking All Night Long — 42km across Brisbane, from dusk until dawn, with no sleep.

On 13 June 2025, I received the phone call that no person who works away from their family ever wants to receive.

"Lucy is in hospital, I’m not sure what has happened, but it sounds really bad".

My 13 year old niece Lucy had suffered a stroke — a bleed on her brain caused by a ruptured AVM, a tangle of blood vessels none of us knew was there. In a matter of moments, everything changed.

I was away for work, and what followed were 12 of the longest hours of driving I have ever experienced. I drove home with one thought consuming me: Would I make it back in time? The fear, helplessness and heartbreak of being so far away from my family and from Lucy is something I will never forget.

Then came the moment I had to tell my own children what had happened to their cousin — and try to explain something that I could barely comprehend myself.

When I finally arrived at the Queensland Children's Hospital, Lucy was fighting for her life.

Lucy spent 17 days on life support in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and 80 days in total at the Queensland Children's Hospital. I spent every night by her bedside so Lucy's parents could rest until she finally came out of her coma. Those nights were filled with fear, uncertainty, exhaustion and hope. We watched, we waited, we prayed and we held onto every small sign that Lucy was still fighting.

Through every single one of those days, our family was surrounded by people who gave us strength when we had very little left to give ourselves. The PICU team. The doctors. The nurses who learned Lucy's name, cared for her as though she were their own and never gave up on her. The rehabilitation team who helped Lucy begin the incredibly difficult journey back.

They didn't just care for Lucy.

They cared for all of us.

They helped hold our family together during the darkest period any of us had ever experienced.

That is why this October, I am walking All Night Long — 42km across Brisbane, from dusk until dawn, with no sleep.

It will be one long, hard night.

But I know that whatever I experience during those 42 kilometres will be nothing compared with what families at the Queensland Children's Hospital face every single day and every single night.

I am walking to give back to two organisations that were there for families like ours:

The Children's Hospital Foundation — supporting the research, equipment, treatment and care that helped give Lucy the chance to fight her way back.

Ronald McDonald House SEQ — helping keep families together when their child is seriously ill, providing a bed, meals and a place close to the hospital where parents and families can rest, regroup and find the strength to keep going.

Every donation can make a real difference:

• $80 — provides two hours of tutoring for a child missing school
• $160 — provides a family with a night at Ronald McDonald House
• $220 — provides a music therapy session for a child in hospital

My goal is to raise $10,000, with every dollar going towards supporting children and families facing some of the hardest moments of their lives.

If Lucy's story means something to you, I'd be incredibly grateful if you would donate, share this page, or simply help spread the word.

Every dollar, every share and every bit of support helps.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for standing with Lucy, with our family, and with the children and families who need these incredible organisations most.