KARTIKA Medcraft has organised the Sweet ChariTea event for the past three years to raise funds for the paediatric unit at Canberra Hospital because PaTCH has done so much for her 12-year-old son Sebastian, who was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord tumour when he was three.

However, this is the first year that she can breathe a sigh of relief.

“We usually do Sweet ChariTea earlier in the year, but Sebastian had a week of intense tests in Sydney hospital in July and I just had to focus on that,” she says.

Sebastian also suffers from PTSD and ADHD, and Kartika says that the support they have received around these issues, as well as the medications to support Sebastian with the ongoing problems of loss of sensation from surgery, have been invaluable.

“We have always been told that when Sebastian gets to his teens he would need surgery, which would leave him paraplegic,” she says.

“We have lived with that for nine years and prepared ourselves for it.

“But the results showed that the tumour hasn’t grown at all. There is still surgery to come and some ongoing associated post surgical issues he will have for life, but the threat of life confined to a wheelchair is over.

“We thought we were heading for the worst but we got the best-case scenario.

“It’s a strange sense of relief. And now, it feels surreal. And having to retrain the way I think, as everything we do and plan has always been with Sebastian in a wheelchair. So now it’s just a matter of simply getting on with life and stop holding ourselves back almost.

“I almost can’t believe it in my heart. A part of me has that little niggling fear of ‘what if’, so it is this that I need to change and let go of the fear, pain, anxiety of the last nine years and learn to move on and enjoy what unexpected things life throw at us!

“We were blown away, but when we talked to Sebastian about how he wouldn’t be in a wheelchair, he just said, ‘oh, okay’!”

Be treated like ‘RoyalTea’

HANDSOME princes, beautiful princesses, evil queens and rock kings are all invited to be treated like “RoyalTea” at this year’s Sweet ChariTea event, says organiser Kartika Medcraft.

“It’s not all princesses and knights though – some of the table stylists this year have interpreted the theme of RoyalTea in really out-of-the-box ways,” says Kartika.

“We’re having a ‘Labyrinth’-themed table as an ode to the Goblin King, a table dedicated to Elvis and one called ‘I Want to Break Free’ inspired by Queen.”

Kartika says the afternoon high-tea event will feature a fashion show by Rockstars and Royalty, as well as children modelling clothes from local label Little Monstas, with the youngest model only 10 months old. There will also be auctions, raffles, a candy bar and a nail spa pamper station.

“I’m trying to get Sebastian to model, and I’m hoping he will although it’s not high on his list of priorities!” says Kartika.

“He does help me out though – he knows what the event is all about and understands why I do it.”

Kartika says she’s been asked if this will be the last Sweet ChariTea, but she says she wants to keep doing it.

“Last year’s event raised $23,462.78. The hospital purchased 30 new breastfeeding chairs for the neonatal and pediatric wards for mums with sick bubs and we were very happy to have the funds go towards purchasing them,” she says.

“I’m so grateful to PaTCH and I’ll keep on doing Sweet ChariTea for families who are going through tough times.”

Sweet ChariTea 2016, The Abbey, Gold Creek, 1pm-5pm, Sunday, September 18. Tickets via via eventbrite.com.au, more information at facebook.com/sweetcharitea