Christine's daughter, Sophie, was six years old when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
Although ear infections are common, when Sophie couldn't shake hers off, her parents became worried.
"The ear infections were getting worse every time and she was taking longer to bounce back," recalls Christine.
Sophie's doctor sent her for blood tests. Just four hours later, she called and told Christine to drop what she was doing and take Sophie to the hospital immediately.
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When they arrived at the emergency department, Sophie was rushed off for more tests.
Christine realised in that moment that her little girl's life was in danger when two doctors came to see her and her husband Paul. They were childhood cancer specialists.
"When I saw their badges, I passed out. It was such a shock," she says.
Sophie's organs had started shutting down. From that moment, the hospital became their second home for many months.
Sophie began chemotherapy straight away with Christine by her side. "I never thought it could happen to someone I love, especially not my bright, happy, placid little girl."
A night stands out in Christine's memory as she nearly lost Sophie.
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"She had a toxic reaction to the build-up of chemotherapy in her body. Her little body had just had as much as it could handle, and we nearly lost her. It was terrifying.
"One night Sophie's heart rate was so high, that no matter what doctors tried, they couldn't bring it down.
"They rushed in the Redkite Music Therapist, who played to her for hours, and you could just see how her heart rate started going down.
"I truly believe it was the music therapist who saved her life that day."
Listen to the latest episode of our podcast called Kids Cancer Conversations here, or by pressing play on the below:
"Music therapy was vital, especially in those early few months. Sophie can't remember a lot of that time frame now, but I do.
"There were a few occasions when she was in an extremely serious condition to the point where we'd had to have the emergency crash team race in to get her back.
"It was after these periods that the music therapist would come in and help to calm her down. It was like witnessing a miracle.
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"When you see the impact that somebody can have on your child, when you're worried if they're even going to make it. You could see on the machines Sophie was responding to the music."
Music therapy also gives kids a chance to express themselves and explore their feelings.
It helps them explore and manage difficult as well as happy emotions and even find some fun. It helps them manage the stress and anxiety that comes with medical procedures.
"I would never have thought of music as being a 'therapy,' but when you see it working, when you see your child responding to it from being completely unresponsive to starting to reanimate and her heart rate coming back into safe zones.
"I could hardly breathe. We had this person who was willing to sit there for as long as it took to help and to make a difference. It happened on more than one occasion. I will be forever grateful.
"I found it soothing for me as well because I could see my daughter responding to it. It's an important service that I didn't even know existed until we needed it."
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Sophie recalls how music therapy made her feel. "I remember little bits of it before where I was very scared, and then after the music therapist, I remember being very peaceful and relaxed."
Sophie is doing incredibly well and has become a beacon of hope and inspiration for all who know her.
She was named the 2023 Lake Macquarie Young Citizen and was the 2024 NSW Women of The Year Award Recipient.
More information on how Music Therapy helps:
Expressing Feelings: Children with cancer often have lots of feelings they find hard to talk about. Music lets them express their emotions, fears, and worries in a safe and creative way.
Less Stress: Calming music can lower stress, help you relax, and improve sleep, which is important for a child's health.
Pain Relief: Research has shown that listening to music can therapeutically enhance pain tolerance, perceived control over pain and reduce anxiety more effectively than visual distraction or silence.
Improved Communication: Sometimes, because of their illness or treatment, children might have difficulty speaking. Music helps them communicate and express themselves.
Better Thinking: Playing a musical instrument can help boost brain skills, like remembering things, focusing on tasks, and solving problems – all which are great for school and also life in general.
Kids Cancer Conversations hosted by Georgie Gardner is a podcast made in collaboration with RedKite, the podcast seeks to explore the hidden side of Childhood Cancer, the non-medical part that often gets missed on the cancer journey.
Episode five of Kids Cancer Conversations with Georgie Gardner is available now wherever you get your podcasts.
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