‘Her body wanted to die’: How Telethon-funded treatment saved Bubba Kaio Rerekura’s life

Bubba Kaio Rerekura is a five-year-old force; a “warrior princess” who has a ferocious right kick in mixed martial arts — using a leg almost lost to sepsis — and who can swim like a fish with just one lung.

That Bubba is even here at all, to boss her four sisters around, hug her parents and apply a coat of lip gloss, flick back her hair and take on the world, is more than a miracle.

It is a testament to compassionate, brilliant and innovative medical teams who never stopped looking for answers as Bubba’s tiny body was ravaged by a deadly infection, to her family’s unwavering faith, and to community. The family and friends who kept them afloat and the people of WA who continue to support Telethon each year.

Having faced the worst and come out the other side with their precious family intact, Bubba’s family are sharing their story to raise awareness and funding.

They, and WA doctors, are desperate to ensure more children can access the emerging, innovative therapy which helped to save her life, and which has limited availability in WA.

On Saturday night, Bubba’s mum Charky Kaio Rerekura shared her family’s story on the Telethon Ball stage, delivering a powerful address to a generous audience of philanthropists, politicians and business leaders.

It came almost two years after the Rerekuras’ world was rocked by an innocuous cut on Bubba’s hand. Unbeknown to the family, that cut became infected and progressed to severe sepsis, which was discovered when the three-year-old was rushed to hospital with intense leg pain and a fever.

Bubba underwent surgery to investigate the swelling in her leg, but soon after, her body went into septic shock and her organs started to fail. Suddenly their chubby-cheeked, free spirited “boss baby”, who loved princess dresses and playing in dirt, was in the fight of her life.

“The moment that changed my life forever was seeing Bubba for the first time in a coma. Nothing prepares you for that,” Charky told The Sunday Times.

“One minute you’re a normal healthy family living your normal life, and the next you’re standing over your little girl, covered in tubes and wires, surrounded by machines keeping her alive.

“She looked so small. So fragile. So lifeless. I remember staring at her and waiting for her to squeeze my hand, open her eyes, do anything. But she couldn’t. It felt like my heart had shattered into a million pieces.”

Charky and her husband Thornton were told they had five minutes to sign paperwork consenting to placing her on life support while they fought to save her.

“We were told that Bubba’s body wanted to die. I can’t even explain the pain after hearing those words. It was a real-life nightmare,” Charky said.

Bubba was placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation unit (ECMO), an advanced Telethon-funded life support system which takes over the function of a patient’s heart and lungs during critical medical crises.