They are the pint-sized heroes who battle bravely in the face of adversity and they want you to dig deep to help more sick kids like them.
As the demands on the State’s Little Telethon Stars has grown to keep up with the generosity of WA at this vital time of year, so has the line-up, with four stars leading the charge in 2023.
They all have their own stories to tell about their health struggles, but share two common attributes — they never give up and won’t let their difficult circumstances dictate who they are.
Connor Barrett, Emily Houston, Harrison Carthew and Sophia Marshall will bring their big smiles, zest for life and resilience to the stage next month as Telethon looks to eclipse the 2022 record of $71.3 million in funds raised.
The four will have their screen debuts on 7News on Sunday, so let’s meet them.
Harrison Carthew
Diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and developmental delays at the age of 15 months, six-year-old Harrison couldn’t walk until he was four.
The Gosnells Primary School Year 1 student has disrupted sleep and takes daily Botox injections to help with his developing pains.
He also deals with vision impairment and colour blindness, but with the support of Telethon-funded organisations, such as Ability WA and Perth Children’s Hospital, he has gained a new sense of self-confidence.
Ability WA speech pathologist Kiara Patat said Harrison would be a perfect Little Telethon Star.
“Harrison’s an absolute character,” she said. “He’s got the best sense of humour and he always gives 100 per cent.”
Harrison’s mum, Pay Pay Lee, said her son was always able to joke no matter how bad his day had been.
“He’s the larrikin in our family. He’s the joker,” she said. “He’s so happy no matter how hard the work is.
“It’s going to be as much of a surprise for me whatever comes out of his mouth on TV than anyone else.”
Connor Barrett
For eight-year-old Connor, there is no such thing as stable, as cystic fibrosis leaves him unable to digest food, damages his lungs and gives him excruciating pain in his digestive system.
To treat his genetic disease the Bunbury Cathedral Grammar Year 2 student goes through 25 doses of medicine and two physio sessions a day.
Cystic fibrosis is life-limiting, but Connor doesn’t let it get in the way of his dreams as he plans to become a scientist to help others like him.
“I want to be a scientist because it’s interesting and you can help people,” he said.
Cystic fibrosis can be isolating, especially in regional areas, as people with the disease limit socialising due to the risk of spreading bugs.
But through the help of Telethon funding, Cystic Fibrosis WA provides services to regional kids like Connor to help them feel less alone.
Connor’s mum, Taryn, said he was always a happy kid despite his daily struggles.
“When you look at Connor he looks perfect from the outside, but he has cystic fibrosis, which affects his daily life,” she said.
“He takes it in his stride and he approaches that with no complaints.”
Mrs Barrett said the stars were great friends already.
“I think this is going to be brilliant having the four of them this year,” she said.
“They have formed a bond and children with additional needs just have that innate special zest for life and they’re going to have an amazing time.”
Emily Houston
Seven-year-old Emily has had a lot to contend with in her life after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at just four-years-old.
She received her last round treatment in August, but is still in clinic as she continues her antibiotics and undergoes monthly blood tests to make sure she is not relapsing.
The Harvey Primary School Year 2 student was granted a very special Make-A-Wish funded by Telethon — to become “Hulk” and save her oncology team from an attack.
She went through superhero training before getting the emergency call.
And with the help of Spider-Man and her big sister Jessica, Emily defeated the villain Loki and saved the team that helped save her.
“I aimed at his face and I hit his face,” Emily said.
“When Loki was getting put in the police car he said ‘I would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you kids’.”
Make-A-Wish chief executive Sally Bateman said Emily’s unique wish captured everyone’s attention.
“She has such a positive outlook and learns and grows from her experiences. It was her desire to show the world how brave she is that made her the perfect fit for the Little Telethon Stars,” she said.
Emily’s mum, Andrea, said: “As a parent you never aspire to your child to be a Telethon Star because of what it means. But to have been on this journey and have this opportunity, it is just amazing to be able to help and give back to the people of WA because we have benefited from so many organisations that are funded through Telethon.”
She said Emily would bring cheekiness, crazy, a little bit of sass and a lot of fun to her role as a Little Telethon Star.
Sophia Marshall
Sophia’s parents knew something was wrong when the seven-year-old wasn’t her usual bubbly self.
The Attadale Primary School Year 2 student was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four years ago after she lost weight, was always thirsty and needed to urinate frequently.
Her family were sent straight into the care of the Perth Children’s Hospital diabetes team to learn how to deal with the life-long disease.
Sophia’s dad, Ben, said the program helped settle their nerves.
“We were looked after for a week and went through a whole program of how to care for a child with diabetes,” he said.
“It’s pretty scary when it first happened, but throughout that process you get to a point where you’re still very much starting the journey, but you feel like you can go out back into the world.”
Sophia also suffers coeliac disease, but has a new lease on life since being diagnosed and getting a wearable glucose monitor.
She said she wanted to give back to Perth Children’s Hospital as a Little Telethon Star.
“We’ll probably speak in the microphone and meet other Telethon people, answering the phones, and doing lots of other stuff,” she said.
“Donate lots of money to the children’s hospital so they can get lots of help.”
Perth Children’s Hospital diabetes educator Lauren Haddow said managing Sophia’s diabetes is “relentless”.
“It’s 24/7 with no break and can be stressful. But looking at Sophia you would never know,” she said.
“She’s bubbly, active and has embraced her condition with a positive attitude and with excellent support.”
Telethon chairman Richard Goyder knows all too well the struggles that come with having a child with an invisible disease.
His son, Will, was diagnosed with diabetes as a child, with the now 25-year-old FaceTiming Sophia to talk about their shared difficulties in keeping on top of the disease.
“I think people sort of see outwardly a healthy person, but they don’t understand what’s required to keep blood sugar levels in a reasonable band and it can be dangerous,” Mr Goyder, pictured below, left, said.
“As a parent you’re always on top of that while wanting to give your child as much freedom as they can have. We used to have to get up every two hours at night to finger-prick him and check his blood sugar levels.
“The good news is since Will was diagnosed 18 years ago that the treatments and research have improved significantly.”
Telethon Kids Institute has recently been named a global centre of excellence for diabetes — the only one outside of North America — through the help of funding into diabetes research from Telethon and Rio Tinto.
The announcement of the new Little Telethon Stars starts the countdown to the 56th annual Telethon from October 21-22.
“The activation in the city for the Telethon weekend in October will be amazing,” Mr Goyder said.
“However much money we raise it all goes to a wonderful causes. We’re hoping we can help as many organisations and kids as we can.”
This year, Telethon helped 107 beneficiaries continue to improve the health and wellbeing of sick and vulnerable WA children with the.$71.3 million raised in 2022.
Telethon is hoping for a successful 2023 campaign to ensure all of its amazing charity beneficiaries can continue to provide better access and quality of care as WA comes together to help build a better and brighter future for our children.
This includes organisations that are supporting this year’s Little Telethon Stars, including Cystic Fibrosis WA, Perth Children’s Hospital, Ability WA and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.