Marvellous Milli Lucas thanks everyone for their help after Charlie Teo brain surgery

Milli Lucas took her first post-surgery steps last night, just 36 hours after waking up from a life-threatening brain operation.

From her bed at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, Milli, pictured post-surgery, waved at the camera and assured fans back home, “I’m doing well”.

“I’m OK,” she said. “Thank you for all your help.”

Renowned neurosurgeon Charlie Teo operated on the 12-year-old from Secret Harbour on Monday. Milli was last night recovering in the paediatric ward, having been taken out of the intensive-care unit late yesterday afternoon.

Milli enjoyed her first post-surgery meal of chicken and rice last night and has since had her catheter removed.

Tasked with prolonging the terminally ill girl’s life, Dr Teo operated on Milli for more than six hours.

His job — to cut out the cancerous tumour growing in her brain — was anything but simple.

“It was probably one of the more difficult that I’ve done,” Dr Teo said last night. He said that of the 11,000 brain tumours he had operated on, Milli’s was one of the 100 most difficult. Milli’s tumour, which doubled in size last year despite surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and cyber treatment, was in the dominant hemisphere of her brain.

“It went into the brain stem ... the no-go zone of the brain where most people don’t operate,” Dr Teo said.

Due to its position, Milli was at risk of paralysis, speech impairment, and death.

But to her and her family, no amount of risk was going to stop them from going through with the surgery. “It was actually worth the risk,” Dr Teo said.

Milli has a rare genetic condition that predisposes carriers to a lifetime risk of a wide variety of cancers. And because her tumour is malignant, cutting it out is only a temporary fix.

Once she is discharged from hospital on Thursday, Milli will begin phase two of her battle: keeping the cancer at bay.

An MRI scan taken post-surgery revealed Dr Teo had successfully removed 98 per cent of the malignant tumour.

He said if alternative therapies in Germany did not work to remove the final 2 per cent, he would go back in in the coming months.

“She will need follow-up treatment,” he said. Dr Teo has referred Milli to specialists in Germany, where she is expected to undergo alternative treatments for her cancer this year.

Milli woke up after surgery on Monday afternoon groggy and tired, with her first words addressing the pain in her head.

But it was not long until her signature smile reappeared, as her brother Joel and sister Tess showered her in hugs and kisses.

The little girl rose to fame when The West Australian and Today Tonight shared her story, prompting more than 2500 people to donate $164,000 via the family’s GoFundMe page for flights, accommodation and medical expenses. Li-Fraumeni syndrome has preyed on most of the Lucas Smirk family, killing Milli’s grandmother, cousin and uncle. Milli’s 15-year-old sister Tess, her mother Monica Smirk and her cousin Beau Smirk have also been diagnosed with cancer.