Daniel Reupena with his dad Ray in Apia in 2023.
Ten-year-old Moana Pasifika fan Daniel Reupena is a trooper.
At six years old he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour called Craniopharyngioma. This year he has had four operations, and 15 since February 2021.
Daniel makes the most of everyday, playing sport and helping bring positivity to the lives of other sick kids.
“It’s been tough in terms of the tumour diagnosis,” Ray, Daniel’s dad says. “It’s something they can’t remove so we don’t know when it will end. It’s just an ongoing process of drain, wait for it to reaccumulate and then they drain again.”
Residing in Brisbane, Ray and his wife Jacqui take Daniel to his appointments and most days he has to leave school early.
“He has a MRI every six weeks that determines what the next course of action is for the doctors and surgeons. It’s not ideal but we just try to get on with it and do what we love when we can,” Ray says.
“This year I’ve noticed its taken a bit of a toll on Dan mentally and his recovery has been a bit slower. He used to be excited to go in because he gets to sleep over at the hospital and gets the attention and care from the nurses. But I think he’s realised it’s not that great an offer. It can get boring in the hospital and he’d rather be out at home.”
Daniel likes to keep active and has many talents. While he’s not allowed to play contact sport, he loves watching Moana Pasifika play.
“They’re my home team and they’re my origin, and I love supporting them because they’re like a family to me,” Daniel says.
In 2022, Daniel and Ray were invited to have lotu (prayer) and dinner with Moana Pasifika after their match against the Reds in Brisbane.
Then in 2023 Daniel delivered the match ball onto the field for Moana Pasifika’s match at Apia Park in Samoa.
He’s an athlete himself and enjoys swimming, playing touch and soccer training. But his first love is triathlons and Daniel took part in a race last December only five weeks after an operation.
He also plays the piano and is excited to take up guitar lessons soon.
Next February, Daniel and Ray will be taking part in the Starlight Australia Super Swim Challenge for the third consecutive year.
Participants raise funds for the Starlight Children’s Foundation which is a very special cause for the Reupena family.
Starlight helps brighten the lives of sick kids through medical free rooms where they play games, watch movies and can feel like a kid again. Visiting these rooms has been a highlight for Daniel during his time in hospital.
“The captains are really funny and I love hanging out with them because they show me a lot of comfort and love.”
In 2024, Daniel and Ray swam 84km and raised over $26,000 for the Starlight Foundation. Daniel was the top fundraiser in all of Australia by about $5,000.
The previous year they both swam over 54.5km and raised over $17,000. In 2025 Daniel aims to swim 40km and has been training hard over the past month.
As part of the fundraiser, Ray also organises a 100x100m swimming challenge.
“It’s a nice community event as we have families join and groups of friends as well,” Ray says. “This year we had just over 80 athletes with 17 of them swimming 10km in the morning. Dan had to do the first lap to get everyone started.”
“I love doing all those sports. It really makes me happy and proud of myself. You can be creative in swimming and you can become really healthy when you play sport,” Daniel says.
Daniel’s determination and bravery is an inspiration to Moana Pasifika and an incredible example of how we should live – never letting anything stop us from enjoying life.
“I don’t want to ever stop, it’s really fun for me.” No matter what Daniel wants to “keep swimming.”
You can help Daniel reach his fundraising goal by clicking here to donate.
ENDS
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