Andie Rose has invisible medical conditions and a lack of understanding among her peers often means she feels isolated and lonely when she is well enough to attend school.
As a one-year-old, she was diagnosed with the chronic respiratory condition tracheobronchomalacia (TBM).
It makes the tissues of her trachea "floppy" and means the now 12-year-old has spent much of her childhood in and out of doctors appointments and hospitals.
But one thing that has given her hope and made her feel like she belongs has been working with Juiced TV, an entertainment initiative based at the Queensland Children's Hospital that creates shows and events with children they can watch while in hospital.
Chance meeting leads to long-term involvement
When Andie Rose was six years old, she and her mother Domenica stopped after a medical appointment to watch a Juiced TV show.
Andie Rose was approached by a crew member to see if she wanted to be involved.
Given she was holding a toy caterpillar from the children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, the entertainment group asked her if she wanted to interview the crew from QPAC, who were producing a stage show based on the book.
Watching herself back on Juiced TV, Andie Rose "felt very proud of herself" — especially as she was learning to speak English after having just returned with her family from Bali.
Over the past six years, she has continued doing shows and events with Juiced TV and said it had made her feel like she "belonged somewhere".
"My medical conditions are invisible, so I don't really look sick, so I often get bullied and treated badly or differently at school and it's really annoying," she said.
"I've made friends, it feels like I belong there, they understand when I feel like no-one except my Mum understands."
She said words could not describe how grateful she felt for the experiences that have made her feel "normal".
"I feel like, I don't think I would have gotten through what I've been dealing with without Juiced TV because it's really helped my mental health.
"Honestly, I love it, it's honestly like a family, it's the best thing I've ever had, besides my Mum, my sister."
The AMA Queensland Foundation is encouraging people to donate to their Christmas Appeal for Juiced TV with the aim to raise $25,000 for a new broadcast-quality camera.
AMAQ Foundation chair Dr Dilip Dhupelia said hospitals can be very frightening and lonely places for children and their families.
But he said having their own TV programme brings "a lot of smiles and a lot of laughter to their faces".
