The Good Friday Appeal has unveiled its 2025 Faces of the Appeal, with Jack and Mimi, two brave young children from Melbourne’s northern suburbs, at the heart of this year’s campaign.
Jack and Mimi’s stories embody the life-changing impact of community donations, which fund crucial medical projects and improve care for sick children across Victoria.
Mimi, four-years-old and Jack, six-years-old, have both been patients at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) since they were very young.
They both have received life-saving treatment, Mimi for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and Jack for a brain tumour.
When Mimi turned one, the little hair she had started falling out. Her parents watched as her eyelashes and eyebrows disappeared. She began treatment for alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss. Her parents were told her hair may never return.
As part of her treatment, she required regular blood tests. In December 2023, one of these routine blood tests unexpectedly revealed something far more sinister — possible signs of leukaemia.
Mimi was urgently referred to the RCH emergency department.
Mimi’s parents, Mohamad and Fatina were convinced there’d been a mistake. Their bubbly, little girl appeared otherwise healthy.
“She was jumping all around, and she had this good energy,” Fatina said.
“How could she be sick?”
Urgent tests confirmed the diagnosis – it was acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a form of cancer.
Mimi was admitted to hospital immediately and underwent intensive chemotherapy to try to induce remission or remove any sign of leukaemia.
While the treatment took its toll on Mimi, within the first month, tests revealed there was no more cancer; she was in remission.
To make sure her leukaemia never returns, Mimi needs to continue with her chemotherapy for some time.
Jack was 14-months-old when his parents, Misty and Rohan, noticed something wasn’t quite right.
Jack was losing the few words he knew.
To make matters worse, he began to experience seizures, sometimes up to three times a day.
With no history of seizures in their family, they rushed him to their local doctor.
In early 2020 the family was urgently referred to the RCH.
After numerous tests, scans and admissions, it was confirmed that Jack had epilepsy.
A month on, things took a turn for the worse, with doctor’s discovering Jack’s brain tumour.
After serious discussions with the care team, the decision was made to remove the tumour.
After a challenging but quick recovery period in hospital, Misty and Rohan took Jack home, swollen but healing.
In the weeks that followed, Jack appeared seizure-free and for the first time in a long time, his parents heard him speak.
Good Friday Appeal chairwoman Penny Fowler said the resilience of Jack and Mimi was inspiring, and they are an example of why it is so important to rally behind The Royal Children’s Hospital.
“Last year, over $23 million was raised by the Good Friday Appeal,” she said.
“This would not have been possible without the generous volunteers, fundraisers, donors and partners.”
