Little Drummer Girl - Liwen Marches To Her Own Beat

The brave young musician won’t hide away

- Lynley Ward

There’s nothing schoolgirl Liwen Miao loves to do more than show off her impressive skills on the drums. Seated behind the practice kit in her west Auckland home, the talented 12-year-old strikes up a groovy rhythm to her favourite tracks before uploading her performance to video-sharing app TikTok. She dreams of one day being a rock star.

The lofty ambition brings a smile to mum Lei’s face. The confidence and self-assurance is something she has nurtured in her eldest daughter since she was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome – a rare genetic condition affecting bone development in her face. But mum-of-three Lei is the first to admit it hasn’t been an easy ride struggling with major health scares early on in Liwen’s life, years of exhausting full time care and encountering cruel playground barbs over her daughter’s appearance.

“It’s really, really difficult,” she admits, giving Liwen a tender hug as she apologises for saying that.

Lei, 40, reaches for her daughter’s birth book, a neat, handwritten journal documenting the weeks spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Auckland’s Starship Hospital – starting with the day little Liwen entered the world on March 27, 2007, struggling to breathe and leaving her frightened young parents in shock.

The Aucklander recalls the terrifying first hours as a new mum, when her pregnancy took a dire turn in the delivery suite and her newborn was whisked to an emergency room for lifesaving treatment.