The mother of an eight-year-old New South Wales cancer survivor says she is struggling to understand why her daughter's crucial appointments in Queensland were cancelled without any real explanation.
At just three years of age, Audrey was diagnosed with retinoblastoma — a rare cancer that meant her right eye had to be removed.
She underwent the surgery at the Queensland Children's Hospital, followed by seven months of chemotherapy.
Her mother, Claudine Snow, said her daughter still required regular evaluations and MRIs of her brain and remaining eye under a general anaesthetic to ensure the cancer had not returned.
"Those appointments are really crucial for her wellbeing," she said.
"She's over the worst of it. However, it's just really important that we have these regular scans because, if anything does appear, we can get on top of it quickly."
Caught out by closure
Now the family — who live at Nambucca Heads on the New South Wales Mid North Coast — have been caught up in Queensland's tough COVID-19 border closure.
Ms Snow said that Audrey had been booked in for an MRI and a review with her oncologist at the Queensland Children's Hospital on September 14 and 15, but the appointments were cancelled.
Ms Snow said it was unclear whether the decision came from the hospital itself, or as a result of Queensland Health's public health directives.
In a statement, a Queensland Health spokesperson said Queensland Children's Hospital had not cancelled appointments for NSW children who required essential medical care.
"NSW border families are still able to access urgent care at the hospital under strict infection control guidelines to keep everyone safe," the spokesperson said.
"Non-urgent appointments are being rescheduled or shifted where clinically appropriate to alternative arrangements, including appointments at local hospitals or via telehealth, while the border restrictions are in place.
"Access will return to normal as soon as the COVID-19 risk in NSW eases and restrictions and border closures can be lifted."
Moving care elsewhere tricky
Ms Snow — who is in the midst of a high-risk pregnancy — said Audrey's treatment required specialist care, which was only available in larger, metropolitan hospitals.
She said trying to move her daughter's treatment to a Sydney hospital would be extremely challenging and dangerous on a number of levels.
"My daughter is autistic and she suffers from severe anxiety, which she's treated for," Ms Snow said.
"It would be very traumatic for her to go to a different hospital."
Ms Snow said she also had concerns about taking her immune-compromised daughter to a hot-spot.
"We have our family based on the Gold Coast and we don't really have the means to afford accommodation in Sydney as this will be a regular thing.
"There's the saying, 'We're all in this together' but I don't really feel as though we are."
