Looking ahead with Mila

by Nicholas Duck
Warragul youngster Mila Naus sees the world a bit different than most other kids her age - literally.
The 11-year-old's right eye was removed at 16-months of age after being diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare and aggressive type of eye cancer that primarily affects children under five.
Now she's become one of the faces of the disease around Australia as she helps to raise awareness of the condition, while living her life to the fullest.
Retinoblastoma is a rare type of eye cancer that primarily affects children under five. The main early sign is a cloudy white colouration in the pupil under light, which often appears during flash photography.
For Mila by the time she was diagnosed it was too late to save her eye.
Her mother Kelly said a routine eye check at Specsavers quickly turned into something much scarier, especially after the local hospital sent them off to Melbourne.
"That's when it all just happened quickly, we got transferred very quickly to the Royal Children's that same day," she said.
The family were soon told about retinoblastoma and from there things took a dramatic turn when it became clear Mila's right eye would have to be removed.
"Once they found out, it had to happen very quickly because you had to be careful it didn't spread to the optic nerve and then go to the brain," Kelly explained.
Every parent dreads hearing their child is sick. For the Naus' it was the unknown future that scared them the most, given how rare retinoblastoma is - only around 25 kids are diagnosed with it in Australia each year.

"It was soul-crushing. Just the fear ... you just don't know, you fear the worst. It was just so foreign to us, it's not like grandma had it and you can relate.
"She was a happy toddler and we thought that we'd lose that forever."

But while every day presents new challenges, Mila has grown up to be a thriving, fun-loving child who continues to make the most of life with her prosthetic eye.
Key to that for the Naus family is making life as normal as possible for her.
"We've made a very strong point right from the get go to make it normal. I feel like life is before retinoblastoma and after but we've just tried to make it normal. We've brought Mila up teaching her you brush your teeth, you clean your eye, that's what you do," Kelly said.
"We've always tried to give her as much independence based on her age as we can because I think with independence comes power and confidence."
As one of a handful of children in Australia who have lived through retinoblastoma, Mila recently had the chance to star in a video for the Royal Children's, showing how her prosthetic eye was made, to explain to other children who might require one.
She's now built a collection of eyes over the years, with her favourite being a striking glitter eye featuring a heart as the iris.
"One of my friends said you should wear your glitter eye every day," she said, although the eye is usually saved just for special occasions.
Mila's school, St Angela of the Cross Primary School, has also embraced her. Recently the school welcomed Warragul Lions Club for a special vision screening session.
With that, they've already picked up 20 students who had previously unknown vision issues.
Deputy principal Jacqui Greco said they loved getting around students like Mila.
"They're all amazing as individuals and I think it's just the inclusiveness and celebrating it as well," she said.
"Mila's a very influential part of our school. She's got lots of friends and she's also an amazing role model for us at St Angela's."
While there are still challenges ahead - the Naus family is remaining vigilant in case the cancer returns - it's easy to see Mila will be putting her best foot forward.
"She's incredible. Every day is a new day and we just make it as normal as possible," Kelly said.