Victorian mother Kristy Colakidis is in dire straits. Her pleas towards officials seeking for her ill daughter to return to her home have gone unnoticed.
Stuck in hotel quarantine in Sydney, her daughter is deprived of much-needed health treatment at home following an overseas trip for medical reasons.
Ms Colakidis said her daughter, five-year-old Samantha, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma – a rare form of childhood cancer – when she was just three and a half.
She told Sky News host Chris Kenny that she took her daughter to a clinic in the USA for maintenance treatment however has been stuck in hotel quarantine in Sydney despite pleading with officials and being “up front with everyone”.
“We’ve done quarantine twice now and we’ve found each time the nurses are unable to support her,” Ms Colakidis said.
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“She has blood count issues so she’s requiring blood tests all the time and no matter what we put forward to the government, they’re not listening They’ve always asked for the backing of medical teams; I’ve sent them letters from oncology teams in the US and our teams at the Royal Children’s Hospital. We’ve also had the notes from the Sydney Children’s Hospital advising that she best be treated in Melbourne as well with her treating team.”
Her pleas however “fell on deaf ears” with neither the NSW nor Victorian governments listening to her.
“Unfortunately, the New South Wales and Victorian governments have not cared about any of the emotional wellness of the child,” she said.
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Ms Colakidis said her daughter is “desperate to get home”.
“Even myself, crying on the phone as a desperate mother begging for help, it’s literally fallen on deaf ears. We’re finding hotel quarantine is not equipped for immuno-compromised children. She’s not getting the treatment she needs.”
