Madilyn Chapman is a bright, chatty seven year-old from Goulburn, but her energy belies the fact that, this time last year, she was receiving chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
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She's been in full remission now since December 2020, and loves to play and make new friends at school (which she was excited to return to earlier this week).
Madilyn was able to put her energy to good use recently when she was chosen by the Starlight Children Foundation and Amazon Australia as an Amazon Playmaker - a job that involves, well, playing.
Madilyn, along with nine other children connected to Starlight through their hospital journeys, had the opportunity to review a selection from Amazon's top 100 toys of 2021, which were delivered to her family home last month.
"It was very hard because I wasn't allowed to open them until the day," Madilyn said.
A film crew and photographer came on September 22 to document her reaction to the toys as part of the Amazon Playmakers campaign ahead of the Black Friday (November 26) and Cyber Monday (November 29) holiday sales.
When she finally got to open all the toys, Madilyn had a ball.
"It was awesome!" Madilyn said. "It was like Christmas."
Madilyn's mum Alison Chapman explained the process.
"Madilyn opened them, one by one, and had a play with them all, and they asked her which was her favourite toy - she had to give a run down on each of them," Alison said.
And the verdict?
"I liked the barnyard one," Madilyn said, referring to a Little People farm playset, "and the camera - you could take pictures and videos, and play games, and you can sing on it, and it keeps them all."
Madilyn also got to collaborate with illustrator Mitch Revs on a picture that is now part of a special colouring book.
For every Amazon Playmakers Holiday Colouring book that is purchased during this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Amazon Australia will donate $1 to Starlight Children's Foundation, in addition to $40,000 worth of toys, games, crafts and gift cards.
Alison said that Starlight were after particular kinds of kids for the Playmaker job.
"I think they wanted children who weren't shy - and Madilyn's a chatterbox," she said.
Watch Madilyn feature in the Amazon Playmakers launch video:
She added that Madilyn is recovering very well from her ordeal with leukaemia, although she had only recently been allowed to catch up on all her childhood immunisations.
"Prior to that she could have caught anything going around, and with COVID floating around, that wasn't good," she said.
"But now she's no longer considered immunocompromised."
Madilyn gets to keep all the toys, although her mother isn't keen on one of them.
"I suggested we maybe give the kinetic sand to someone less fortunate - we've just got new carpet!" she said.
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