How Kingaroy toddler Charli Goodrich cheated death

With her tiny body wracked with a collapsed lung, sepsis, and double pneumonia, South Burnett youngster Charli Goodrich was flown from hospital to hospital as her her parents went through their worst nightmare.

With her tiny body wracked with a collapsed lung, sepsis, double pneumonia and shock, two-year-old Charli Goodrich was too critically ill to airlift.

On February 4, 2021, two-year-old Charli Goodrich couldn’t breath, her heart was racing and her eye was bulging.

Her parents rushed her to the nearest hospital in Kingaroy, where she was diagnosed with a collapsed lung and flown to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

Her condition continued to deteriorate into Respiratory Syncytial Virus, so with the help of Brisbane surgeons via video link, SCUH medical staff inserted a tube in her lungs to help her breath.

Charli’s mother Letisha Goodrich said Charli was diagnosed with double pneumonia and had a golden staph infection. Then, she developed sepsis and her little body went into shock.

“She needed to fly to Brisbane for surgery but first she had to be stabilised,” Mrs Goodrich said.

“They couldn’t stabilise her because of her collapsed lung. It took them four hours to replace the drains to clear her lungs.

“Once she was in the chopper to Brisbane they had to fly low to avoid more pressure affecting her bulging eye,” she said.

Charli fights for life in hospital with her teddy bears.

Once Charli arrived in Brisbane doctors thought she had only 30 minutes to live.

She was rushed into four hours of surgery and afterwards, was placed on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation to keep her heart and lungs functioning for her, and let her body heal.

Charli was in ICU at the Queensland Children’s Hospital for the next seven weeks.

It was an ordeal that her family now looks back on and it eternally grateful for, as it saved their daughter’s life.

It was also where Charli and her family met the Children’s Hospital Foundation.

“While Charli was in a coma they would come in and play guitar gently to her,” Mrs Goodrich said.

CHC played guitar to Charli while she was in a coma.

Foundation CEO Lyndsey Rice said the Children’s Hospital Foundation’s patient and family support team had been improving the hospital experience for sick children and their families for more than 30 years, helping them to cope during an emotional and at times uncertain journey.

“Bravery Beads recognise the strength and courage of kids in hospital - acknowledging the latest procedure, surgery or milestone in their healthcare journey,” she said.

Mrs Goodrich said Charli has 150 Bravery Beads.

Mr and Mrs Goodrich said they decided to hold a raffle with a target of raising $15,000, the price it costs per night for a child to be in ICU.

“We wanted to give back to the charity so we sold our cow and bought an outdoor oven for the first prize, we needed to sell 1500 tickets at $10 each.

“Everyone was so helpful in the community, people would come and collect a book of 30 tickets and sell them all for me, there were books at the police station and I sold them at my work,” Mrs Goodrich said.

Once home, Charli had to relearn how to walk, talk and eat.

Eighteen months later she has made a full recovery and is bouncing around like any other four-year-old.

The Goodrich family handing their $15,000 donation to the CHF

Mrs Goodrich said she could not thank the charity enough.

If you can donate to the Children’s Hospital Charity follow this link: Children's Hospital Charity

Originally published as How Kingaroy toddler Charli Goodrich cheated death