UPDATE JUNE 2: A few weeks ago the Mercury ran a story on a little girl named Tiana Garvin who was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just 11 months old and then spent her birthday and the next seven months in hospital.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
She slowly recovered until recently when there were signs the cancer was coming back.
When Symbio Wildlife Park and the Scarborough Hotel heard her story in April they invited her and her family out on a special day for her third birthday as part of their involvement in Angels at Work.
Tiana had the time of her short life.
But now just a few weeks later she is again fighting for her life in the intensive care unit at Sydney Children's Hospital.
The family has put all their efforts into caring for Tiana and have no income coming in at this time. A fundraising page has been set up to help them financially while they sit by Tiana’s bedside.
EARLIER: Symbio Wildlife Park gives cancer sufferer an Angels at Work experience
Even though she has just turned three, Tiana Garvin has experienced more time in hospital than most of us would expect in a life time.
It was no surprise then to see her face light up when she was given an Angels at Work experience at Symbio Wildlife Park on Wednesday.
Tiana was handed a set of angel wings and halo to keep and was taken on an up-close-and-personal encounter with a Red Panda.
The Radnidge family invited Tiana, her mother Elaina Matthews and aunty Keeley Williams to their Helensburgh zoo for a special experience after hearing her story.
Tiana was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (A.L.L.) three weeks before her first birthday and then spent seven months in hospital.
She had been making a good recovery until recent test results suggested the cancer may be coming back.
When Scarborough Hotel’s Penny Bell heard about the young ambassador for Angels at Work she put on lunch for the family after their visit to Symbio.
Tiana’s grandmother Belen Williams said it was great so many people helped her granddaughter on Wednesday and would be wearing angel wings to collect donations for the Leukaemia Foundation this weekend.
Mrs Williams said Tiana’s cancer was difficult to treat and and involved a lot of travel to Sydney hospitals.
‘‘She was in hospital about six months and then four weeks in Ronald McDonald House,’’ she said.
‘‘She had about three different types of chemotherapy drugs they had to give to her.’’
She said the family wanted the community to know what the Leukaemia Foundation had done for them.
‘‘The Leukaemia Foundation help get Tiana to her appointments when I’m unable to take her,’’ she said.
‘‘I don’t know what I would do without their help. And it is really humbling to know what so many people are doing for her and others like her this Friday with Angels at Work.’’Tiana was diagnosed two years ago three weeks before her first birthday.
Mrs Williams said her cancer was difficult to treat and that took some time with much of her treatment in Sydney hospitals.
‘‘She was in hospital about six months and then four weeks in Ronald McDonald House,’’ she said.
‘‘I think she had about three different types of chemotherapy drugs they had to give to her.’’
Tiana continued to have chemotherapy treatment at home and The doctors got Tiana into remission earlier than they thought they would.
, but in March this year there were signs the cancer could be coming back.
Wednesday, however, was not a day for doctors and hospitals and tests, but a day for smiles and for learning about animals.
She knows the doctors are trying to make her better but she is still not old enough to really understand.
But she did know the animals were great fun.
‘‘What is that?’’ and ‘‘what is this?’’ were phrases Tiana said all day.
‘‘Anything out-of-the-ordinary that she does not normally do helps balance all the other things that happen to her,’’ Mrs Williams said.
Angels at Work will be raising money in Wollongong on Friday, Shellharbour on Saturday and Kiama on Monday, starting with a breakfast at Diggies on Friday where business leaders and community members collect their wings then start taking donations to help local families affected by leukaemia.
People can also register and collect donations online at www.everydayhero.com.au/event/angelsatwork