Our Ambassador – Mitch Larkin

Mitch Larkin

Brainchild Foundation are very proud to have Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer Mitch Larkin as our newest Ambassador and welcome him to our dedicated team.

Mitch and his sister Ashleigh were recently interviewed for an article in the Courier Mail about their family’s brush with childhood brain cancer and we thank them both for sharing their story and helping to spread awareness.

This is the article by Jane Armitstead of the Courier Mail:

Olympic swimmer Mitch Larkin and sister Ashleigh have opened up for the first time about how she survived a brain tumour as a baby. Ashlea 30, was just eight months old when she had a tumour the size of a golf ball removed from her brain. “It is very scary to think what could have happened. Life could have been very different,” Mitch said.

The pair have shared Ashleigh’s health battle to raise awareness after Mitch recently became and Ambassador for the Brisbane founded charity Brainchild Foundation, which supports children affected by tumours of the brain and spinal cord. Mitch said it was a cause that was close to his heart. “I am lucky that my sister has a positive story, but unfortunately there are kids out there who don’t”, he said.

While it all happened before he was born, Mitch is reminded of his sister’s health scare by the 10cm scar on the side of her head. But Ashleigh, a researcher who lives in Sherwood, said she was one of the lucky ones, “It’s a credit to Doctors and Surgeons that I managed to pull through and live a happy and healthy life,” she said.

Ashleigh hoped that by telling her story, and with her brother working alongside Brainchild, it would help make a difference. “Those kinds of illnesses – childhood cancers and brain tumours are super important, and worthy causes like Brainchild help give back to the community”.