Emma's Dream, and creating happy memories for her 3 year old son

At age 67, I still remember turning 23 with dreams of things I wanted to do in my life, places I wanted to visit, the family I wished to have, goals I wanted to achieve. The world was an exciting place with a lifetime of experiences to be had.

My name is Dianne. I am Grandmother to Emma, an amazing 23 year old young women who has recently been diagnosed with a stage 4 Glioblastoma Brain cancer.

In Emma's 23 short years, she has endured more than most. At age 11, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Due to Emma's age and the progression of the cancer she was in for the battle of her short life. She required a very long and intense treatment plan involving very high level chemotherapy and radiation to her brain. Of course there were risks involved in having this treatment which the amazing staff at Starship Children's Hospital made the family very aware. However, without this treatment.... well that was never an option.

We nearly lost Emma on a couple of occasions due to illness while on treatment. After 6 years of fighting she had won the battle! however the war was not yet over.

In May 2019, Emma was admitted to Auckland hospital where it was confirmed she had a very large fast growing aggressive tumor in the front left lobe of her brain. Over the next 2 weeks she underwent two open skull surgeries to de-bulk the tumor as much as possible.

Sadly, the treatment Emma is currently receiving is not to treat and cure this awful disease, but to give her as much time as possible to experience as much of life as she can and to spend as much time with her 3 year old son, Liam, in order to create happy, lasting memories for him with his mum.

Emma has never had big dreams of traveling the world, but would rather see as much of New Zealand as she can, sharing as many experiences New Zealand has to offer with her son as possible.

Please help us to raise the funds to allow Emma to experience as much of life as she can in the short time she has left with us. These funds will allow Emma to share the experiences with her young son, Liam, thus creating happy memories for him that he will hold forever of his mum and times they spent together.

The family would like to thank the New Zealand Child Cancer Foundation for all the support they have received both past and present and the amazing support they provide to all Families with young children who battle cancer in New Zealand.

Emma's family would also like to thank Hospice for the amazing support given to both Emma and the family during this incredibly hard time.

Please support both these organisations. Without the support of us all they would not be able to continue providing the amazing support and services to New Zealand family's at times when they need it the most.