Girl with brain cancer plans to visit family marae in NI
A 12-year-old Invercargill girl battling brain cancer wants to visit her marae in the North Island for the first time.
Zavier Christie, a champion dancer before her illness took hold, was diagnosed with cancer in April last year after enduring headaches and vomiting for several months.
Surgery was followed by 30 rounds of radiation and four months of chemotherapy before she went into remission for nine months.
However, a check-up in August revealed the cancer was back.
Her mother, Val Marshall, said no more treatment was planned apart from low doses of chemotherapy to make her more comfortable.
‘‘It"s the kind of news no parent ever wants to get.’’ The family had received support from many quarters including Zavier’s school, Te Wharekura o Arowhenua.
The school is holding a hair shaving fundraiser on Friday to help pay for Zavier’s trip to her family’s Murumurunga Marae in the central North Island, a place she has never been.
Prior to getting sick, Zavier, who has a sister and five brothers, danced up to five days a week and won trophies for her ballet, but acrobatics was her favourite. Her contortionist acts included putting her arms all the way around herself, kicking herself in the head with her knee and kicking herself in the head with her heel.
Her mother said the focus now was on enjoying time with Zavier while she was well enough.
She continued to attend school and, with the help of family and agencies, was completing things on her wish list.
Last week she met actors on the Shortland Street set in Auckland, her first trip to the North Island.
As well as the marae trip, she wants to go to Deep Cove in the Fiordland National Park for a class camp in December and have a family Christmas in Christchurch.
Te Wharekura o Arowhenua principal Gary Davis said the school was doing numerous fundraising events for Zavier.