In Loving Memory of Anya Reardon

On November 4th 2021, our lovely dear friend Anya Reardon (37) lost her battle to ovarian cancer, a diagnosis she had received less than two years prior. Anya has left behind her loving and supportive husband Nils, and their three beautiful young children Basil (5), Dora (3) and Viva (1.5).

I met Anya 5 years ago when our eldest boys Charlie and Basil (then 1) became best friends. I remember thinking: “Wow, we have so much in common!”, we have both come from similar backgrounds, having moved to New Zealand from Russia and Moldova. Our sons were born only 4 days apart, and even our husbands’ names were similar - Niall and Nils. I remember laughing about it with Anya! We really did hit it off like a house on fire, and have been pretty much inseparable ever since.

Anya and Nils always wanted a big family and they both worked very hard to provide the best life for their kids. In 2018 Anya gave birth to their second child - a beautiful baby girl Dora and life seemed magical!

It was towards the end of 2019 when my son Charlie proudly announced our big secret to his friend Basil: “My mummy has a baby in her tummy!” To everyone’s surprise Basil calmly replied: “ Oh yeah? So does my mum.” All of us were so happy for each other and very glad to be sharing this exciting journey! A few weeks later we had the best Christmas party at our place, and looking back at the happy photos and videos, it’s so hard to believe how much life would change for this special young family in just a couple of months.

Anya’s rare form of ovarian cancer was accidentally discovered during a routine antenatal ultrasound when she was about halfway through her pregnancy. The prognosis was very grim, but Anya and Nils were determined to beat this illness no matter what! There was only one possible outcome that we all wanted for Anya - to live a long and happy life with her family.

Our youngest babies were born just hours apart - talk about being synchronised! Like me, Anya should have been able to enjoy this special time with her little daughter Viva, but instead, she had to continue her treatment. The long and exhausting 20 months of tests and never-ending scans, various types of chemo, immunotherapy, and radiation. Some treatments were funded by the Public Health System and/or health insurance, while others weren’t and cost the family tens of thousands of dollars. Not to mention, the cost of all the independent overseas testing/alternative/natural health treatments etc Anya was willing to try anything to stay alive and be here for her husband and children.

Those of you who knew Anya will know how much she loved life and how much she cared about her family and friends. She put up the bravest fight, having tried every possible treatment and refusing to give up until the very end. Unfortunately, time was not on her side.

Those of you who didn’t know her, I can promise you you would have loved her. I was always blown away by her ability to attract the most amazing people into her life, but it’s not surprising because she was a very special woman. As Anya's close friend Laura put it: "What a personality she had: the drive, the determination, the ability to relate to different people, the spontaneity, the confidence!". Anya was authentic in everything she did! She was kind and loving, really funny and sometimes sarcastic, a supportive, honest, and loyal friend, always thinking about how she could help someone. Anya had great taste, a very unique fashion style, and a passion for art and history. She was a self-confessed bookworm and was by far the smartest person I have ever known. Most of all, she was a fantastic Mummy and wanted nothing more than to spend all her time with her three amazing children. She was so so beautiful, inside and out!

Nils and the kids, Anya’s parents, her sister, and all of us friends are completely devastated to have lost Anya to cancer.

More than anyone, however, Nils has a very tough journey ahead of him. As the sole provider and carer for their three children, Nils will need a lot of help and support. He’s not great at asking for help so we, friends, have offered to set up this givealittle page to try help a special family at such a difficult time.