Aug, 2026
Arlo’s first 15 months were spent in hospital. His longest stay at home was only 32 days.
Imagine if, from birth, all your child really knew were hospital rooms, waiting areas and surgeries, and that some of the most familiar faces in their life were the health staff caring for them every single day.
That is the reality for little Arlo, who has spent the majority of his first 15 months in hospital.
Tiffany and Aron, Arlo’s parents, did not expect the life-changing whirlwind their third child would experience immediately after birth. They were not prepared, and it blindsided them.
Less than a day after Arlo was born, things changed quickly.
Those first newborn moments were suddenly filled with anxiety when Arlo was rushed into Gold Coast University Hospital’s Special Care Nursery with respiratory distress and metabolic acidosis.
What followed was a journey no parent could ever prepare for.
Arlo’s first moments of life were spent fighting battles no child should have to face, beginning a journey that would see him spend much of his first 15 months in hospital.
“It was scary,” Tiffany said. “You go from thinking about all the fun family adventures you will be going on to preparing for surgeries, hospital stays and just hoping your baby boy will be okay. It was overwhelming.”
Arlo was diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease, a rare congenital bowel condition affecting around one in every 5,000 children and capable of causing life-threatening complications. In Arlo’s case, it did.
At just three months old, he underwent an 11-hour surgery.
“Arlo’s first surgery… it was traumatic,” Tiffany said. “We tried to leave the hospital to take a break, but we lasted about 20 minutes before we came back. I was crying too much. When your baby is going through surgery, you feel helpless. It is an agonising wait.”
For Arlo, this surgery would be the first of many procedures he would have to endure.
Over the following months, he experienced more than 40 hospital admissions, ongoing bowel complications, feeding difficulties, countless procedures and regular specialist appointments.
Arlo has needed life-saving intervention on multiple occasions. The longest he has spent at home without returning to hospital has been just 32 days.
For Tiffany and Aron, life with one toddler, one school aged child, and a baby needing such high medical care became a constant juggling act.
One they say would not have been manageable without the support of Gold Coast Health medical teams and donated equipment from Gold Coast Hospital Foundation.
“The staff are what we call family now,” she said.
“They’ve been with us through the hardest times. Sitting with us at 2am, supporting our child into surgery, they’re family. We cannot thank them enough.”
“What the teams do goes beyond the care you expect. They care for him like he is their own.”
Caring for him like he’s their own, these are just some of the health staff who have stood beside Arlo throughout his journey, becoming the people Tiffany now call family.
Arlo’s care has touched nearly every corner of Gold Coast Health. Nurses, emergency clinicians, paediatric surgeons, allied health teams, imaging staff, specialists, nurse navigators and many more have all played a role in his journey.
Among the many people supporting the family have been Gold Coast Health’s Nurse Navigators, helping coordinate appointments, organise equipment, connect the family with services and navigate what can often feel like an overwhelming healthcare journey.
“We probably couldn’t survive without a Nurse Navigator,” Tiffany said.
“Keeping on top of our everyday lives is hard enough. Having somebody that can liaise with the hospital, help coordinate appointments and bring everything together has made such a difference for our family.”
What has left the biggest impression on Tiffany isn’t a single procedure, doctor or department.
It’s how everyone has come together for one little boy, and how the equipment and resources have helped Arlo through his life-altering diagnosis.
“What has amazed us through the whole journey is how every single department works together and wants the same outcomes for him,” Tiffany said.
“And the resources don’t just save time. They’re saving his life.”
“Knowing Gold Coast Hospital Foundation has played a big part in his life-saving care means the world to us. Donations help ensure children like Arlo have access to the best possible equipment and services available, and that our health teams have the resources they need in those critical moments when it feels like our world is falling apart.”
Vital equipment funded through Gold Coast Hospital Foundation has helped support Arlo’s care across multiple departments, giving health teams the resources they need when it matters most.
Throughout Arlo’s journey, equipment funded by Gold Coast Hospital Foundation has supported his health teams and care across multiple departments.
In Special Care Nursery, a Giraffe OmniBed helped provide a carefully controlled environment during his earliest days of life, supporting staff to closely monitor and care for him when he was at his most vulnerable.
In the Emergency Department, Foundation-funded resources including a Blood Gas Analyser, Modsel Children’s Trolley Bed, Nitrous Oxide Administration Device, Sensory Toys and a Ceiling Projector supported both his treatment and hospital experience. Some helped clinicians rapidly assess his condition and make critical decisions, while others provided comfort and distraction during procedures and admissions. Something Arlo is far too familiar with.
As nutrition and growth became an ongoing focus of his care, donor-funded growth monitoring equipment helped clinicians track his development and guide important decisions about his treatment.
For Tiffany, these aren’t simply pieces of equipment sitting in a hospital. They are part of Arlo’s life-saving story.
A part of the care that has helped keep him safe.
A part of the reason health teams can respond quickly, make informed decisions and deliver the best possible care when it matters most.
Before Arlo’s journey, Tiffany never really thought about where hospital equipment came from.
“You assume that all the equipment needed will be there. I never realised that some of it would be thanks to donations, thanks to the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation.”
“In those moments when your child is needing high level care, having the right equipment means everything. It supports the health staff, and it helps save your loved one’s life. It is so important and I am grateful it was there when Arlo needed it. I realise now there is still more than can be done for the next person needing this level of care.”
Today, Arlo continues to fight, grow and smile, supported by the people, equipment and care that help give him the best possible chance at life.
That’s why Scrub Up September matters.
Every day, health teams across Gold Coast Health scrub up for children, adults and families facing some of life’s toughest moments.
They are there for the emergency admissions, the difficult diagnoses, the long nights, the surgeries, the setbacks and the victories.
Because when it’s your child. Your sibling. Your parent. Your friend. Or even your neighbour – nothing matters more than knowing the right people have access to the right resources at the right time.
For Tiffany, the impact of that support can be measured in something far more valuable than any piece of equipment.
Time.
Time watching Arlo grow. Time hearing him laugh. Time making memories together as a family.
“Every admission, every surgery, every donation has helped give us more time with our little boy. He still has a long way to go, but we are incredibly grateful for the support we have received so far.”
You can help make a difference and help more patients and families like Arlo’s this September by purchasing a heart token, donating online, or taking part in Scrub Up Your Way.