QUT Links magazine Autumn 2013

20A new hospicefor children withterminal illnesseswill help themlive their lastdays joyfully.HummingbirdhouseAlumnus Paul Quilliamand his wife Gabriellehope to improve thelives of ill children suchas Maya Thurecht.EACH year more than 50 Queensland families sufferthe heartbreak of losing a child through terminal illness.Queensland does not have a specialised respite facility forfamilies caring for a dying child or a place where they canbe together while their child receives end-of-life care.But that is due to change.QUT Executive MBA graduate Paul Quilliam is using thebusiness skills and networks he acquired during the course tobuild Queensland’s only children’s hospice, close to the newQueensland Children’s Hospital that is scheduled to opennext year in South Brisbane.“My wife and I have fostered children with complex,high-care needs during the past five years and we know howdifficult it is to find respite services with adequate medicalcare for these children,” Mr Quilliam said.“When a child has a terminal illness, the parents oftenbecome 24/7 carers. This adversely affects everyone in thefamily, especially siblings, who can feel isolated when theirparents focus so much time, energy and finances on the sickchild.“Hummingbird House will give these families thespecialised medical, emotional and respite support theydesperately need.”After two years of solid work, Mr Quilliam is well on theway to establishing a dedicated 10-bed children’s hospice withaccommodation for three families.With help and financial support from his QUT classmatesand lecturers, Mr Quilliam has established the charityQueensland Kids to raise Hummingbird House’s $3 millionannual operating costs.“Queensland Kids believes in enhancing the quality ofwhatever time a child may have left by empowering them tolive fully and joyfully,” he said.“We have secured the pro bono services of GlobalPhilanthropic to raise money for the full cost of construction.We also have some significant pledges of construction andtrade materials,” he said.In the meantime, Queensland Kids has canvassed enoughsupport to subsidise the travel costs of families with terminallyill children to a Sydney children’s hospice.Brisbane parent Rabecca Thurecht provides round-theclockcare to her seven-year-old disabled daughter Maya.“Because Maya is in palliative care she very rarely goes toschool,” Ms Thurecht said.“I’m sleep deprived and wonder how I will get througheach day, but I have to because I’m all Maya has.”• To be involved or help Queensland Kids achieveits goal, visit www.queenslandkids.org for moreinformation.