Mila motivates a family keen to run

"You never know if, or when, you might need it".
That was part of the motivation when Warragul couple Kelly and Xavier Naus lined up 10 years ago for their first "Run for the Kids," a major fund-raiser for the annual Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital appeal.
The only years they've missed the run have been the past two that couldn't be held because of COVID restrictions and urged people to give whatever support they can to this year's Good Friday Appeal for the hospital.
Little did Kelly and Xavier know when they did their first Run for the Kids that only a few years later they'd be taking their daughter to the hospital and would continue to do so regularly, every three months at first and until today.
There'll are more trips to the hospital to come as their daughter, Mila now aged seven, undergoes further tests and treatment after having a cancerous eye removed when she was just 16 months old.
Mila will be at the RCH again as soon as tomorrow to have more surgery, to uplift an eyelid that drooped slightly as a result of nerve damage from the initial operation.
Her prosthetic eye requires regular replacement as she grows and she proudly shows off her jewellery box of "spares" that she is able to now fit herself. So far, Kelly says, Mila has been under anaesthetic at the hospital about 25 times.
Younger brother Levi, four, also has regular tests at the RCH because a type of the form of cancer Mila had - retina blastoma - can be hereditary.
Neither parent has any of the genetic markers of the disease and Levi has not shown any signs.
Kelly said Mila was a normal bubbly baby but took her to an optometrist when she was 16 months old to see if there was anything that could be done to correct what she thought was "just a light turn" to one eye.
The call back from the optometrist after tests were analysed came as a shock. "Mila has been immediately booked into the RCH," Kelly was told and nine days later her eye was removed. Kelly has nothing but the highest of praise for the hospital and "all of its staff that go out of their way".
"We are very appreciative".
As she and Xavier prepare for another Run for the Kids on April 3 Mila and Levi will be with them on the course around Docklands in Melbourne, as they've been since they were born including in prams and pushers until old enough to walk or run themselves.
For the first time this year the family will be taking on the "long course" - 14.8 kilometres including the Bolte Bridge and Domain Tunnel.
They'll be among thousands of others taking part in the event that since its inception some 16 years ago has raised more than $20 million for the children's hospital.
Kelly said when she and Xavier first took part before having children they "never thought they'd be running for our own kids". But almost all families at some time will need the world class hospital or know another family that will benefit from the treatment the hospital provides, she said.