Plea to help pay for terminally ill Perth girl Amelia ‘Milli’ Lucas’ brain surgery pays off

The amazing generosity of West Australians has given a desperate couple their first glimpse of hope in more than three years, after an online call out to help pay for their terminally ill daughter’s brain surgery raised more than $90,000 in two days.

Amelia “Milli” Lucas, 12, has been living with a giant tumour in her head for years, forcing her to undergo a series of aggressive treatments — all unsuccessful — to try and tackle the cancer.

This week, The West Australian and Today Tonight shared the family’s campaign to raise $50,000 for an operation on Milli’s brain online.

The GoFundMe campaign had kicked off less than six days earlier, in which time more than 500 West Aussies donated $43,000 to the cause.

However, less than 48 hours after the family’s plight was published, the tally has soared to $134,000, meaning if all goes to plan, Milli will undergo potentially-life saving brain surgery by renowned neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo in Sydney next Wednesday, with her entire family by her side.

“It’s a really big shock,” Milli’s mother, Monica Smirk, 47, said. “We’re absolutely blown away.”

“For the first time in three years, we’ve got hope again. This generosity has given us a second chance.”

The support of West Aussies also means Milli’s family can now afford to get her additional treatment, overseas, after Wednesday’s surgery.

“Our goal was always to get her to Mexico where she can receive alternative medicine treatments after this. But it was a distant goal - we had to find the money for the surgery, flights and accommodation in Sydney first, long before we could think about overseas,” Ms Smirk said.

“When we saw that number last night, it was a feeling of hope for all of us, for the first time in so long.

“We’re on cloud nine. How good is WA?”

Milli and her family’s story was first shared by The West Australian in 2016, when she, her sister Tess, 15, their mother (Ms Smirk), and their uncle Blake Smirk were all diagnosed with cancer.

Most of Milli’s family suffers from a rare genetic condition called Li-Fraumeni Syndrome — a gene disposition that affects less than 1000 people worldwide and is passed down by a parent.

The syndrome, which predisposes carriers to a lifetime risk of a wide range of cancers, has left a path of destruction in the Smirk family — killing Ms Smirk’s brother, her niece and her mother Wendy. She, her nephew Beau and her eldest daughter Tess have also been diagnosed with the disease and battled against a series of aggressive cancers over the years.

Ms Smirk was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, forcing her to undergo a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy. Her nephew Beau was also diagnosed with the disease.

Milli and her family will fly to Sydney on Sunday night, after which they will meet with Dr Teo at Prince of Wales Hospital on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s schedule awake, brain surgery.

To support Milli and the rest of the family, visit the fundraising page gofundme.com/rznphhxg.