Help Heather!

Four years ago my little sister Heather, was diagnosed with brain tumor at the age of 22 (a grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma glioma brain tumor).

At the time Heather's was enjoying a normal happy life. Her daughter, my niece Ayla, was six at the time, she had a steady job and a lovely boyfriend. The news was a bit of a shock.

My sister fought strong and was blessed with an excellent team of doctors and surgeons who would eventually have to perform an "awake craniotomy" in March of 2011, at Auckland Hospital. They removed as much tumor as possible from her brain, without affecting the parts of her speech and mobility where the tumor was spreading.

After surgery she went through six weeks of radiotherapy followed by six months of chemotherapy.

It's hard to imagine the hardship she endured for eight months. The side effects of chemotherapy and radiation were affecting her daily life and during that time her speech became affected temporarily due to brain swelling, she was also legally restricted from driving for three years after her surgery.

Lucky most of the tumor was removed and reduced, however with this particular type of cancer, there is a high probability for the tumor to return. Her prognosis was estimated to be five years before it could possibly return. It only took four.

Her scheduled six monthly MRI tests weren't showing any new growths until her last about a month ago, which showed a small growth and was just recently diagnosed as a grade 3, potentially glioma. The aggravation of the matter is that the tumor is growing once more in the area that affects her speech function, making it dangerous for surgery.

Options for further radiation are very limited due to the amount she has undergone already, so she will have 10 days of treatment, again followed by months of chemotherapy.

I'm Kayley, her older sister. I left New Zealand in April 2013 and now I live in Rome, Italy. Last time around I was by her side through it all, helping out with my niece, seeing her in my lunch breaks and after work while she was at the hospital. As a big sister it was pretty upsetting to see your little sister going through such a tough struggle, and naturally you end up wishing it was you instead.

This time I am not by her side to hold her hand, living so far away I've decided do the best I can to support her in this fight in as many ways as possible until I'll see her again. My first step is this Give a Little page to help support Heather, mainly with a few life changing events.

1. Heather's New Zealand Wedding!!

My sister has a lovely fiancee called Lee. They met each other a year before her initial diagnosis and surgery. Lee stuck by her the whole fight and never left her side. Just before I left New Zealand in April 2013, he proposed to her and it was the sweetest proposal I have ever seen! They've been together for 5 years now and engaged for 2.

I'd like this to be something that Heather can look forward to, and also plan during her therapy. Part of the funds raised will go towards helping Heather and Lee have their New Zealand wedding in Summer of 2016 once Heather finishes her chemotherapy.

2. Heather goes to Italy!!

Big sis is getting married too! My now fiance got down on one knee at the Pantheon in Rome and asked me to marry him, so I will be getting married in the Italian summer next year in July of 2016 to my Italian/American fiancee, Michael.

We live in Rome and and would love nothing more than to have Heather, Lee (her husband to be) and my adorable niece Ayla at our wedding. Hopefully also for an extended holiday to make some lovely memories together in gorgeous Italy. None of them have even been to Europe so having our families together in Italy would be a dream come true. Part of these funds will help fund their trip to Italy and make some everlasting memories.

3. Help Heather and Ayla!

Heather recovered amazingly after the last lot of treatment, she now drives again and has a good job that she enjoys as a Duty Manager at West Liquor, Lincoln Centre. She also has my niece half of the time while her dad Logan has her the other half. With the affect that radio and months of chemo has on your body Heather isn't going to be feeling great for a lot of the time, and unfortunately won’t be able to work. It would be nice to help Heather out with a bit of extra funds to be able to spend some quality time with family and loved ones without having to stress too much.

There is also a FB page set up, https://www.facebook.com/helpheathermoore

Here we would like to share Heather's journey with you, raise awareness and send her messages of support.