The Dunedin 7-year-old is one of the faces of this year’s Child Cancer Foundation Christmas Appeal, which urges New Zealanders to make a difference this Christmas by donating to support children with cancer and their families.
It is a cause very close to the hearts of Brianna and her family.
Her cancer journey began when she had a BMX accident and never fully recovered.
She was later diagnosed with cancer, and the family learnt Brianna had a large Wilms’ tumour, which affects the kidneys.
She is now in remission, but that did not mean she was back to perfect health, her mother Julia Steedman said.
"People think once you’re in remission, that’s the end of everything," she said.
But Brianna was still suffering intense pain that so far, they had not been able to find relief for.
It meant she had missed a lot of time at Opoho School this year, although she had enjoyed attending school via Zoom during lockdown.
Brianna decided she wanted to get involved with the foundation to give back to the charity that had helped her family so much.
As part of the Christmas appeal, Brianna shared her heartbreaking Christmas wish.
All she wants from Santa is to make sure her cancer does not come back.
Child Cancer Foundation chief executive Monica Briggs said that this year, 183 New Zealand families had been changed forever by a childhood cancer diagnosis.
"The impact of Covid-19 and the latest lockdown in Auckland has caused an increased need of support, but many of our fundraisers have had to cancel their events due to gathering restrictions."
The foundation needed to raise $7million each year to ensure it could provide the specific support families needed.
"We don’t receive any direct government funding, so we rely on the generosity of incredible Kiwis to help these families through the toughest time in their lives."
People can donate by visiting the foundation’s website or texting XMAS to 3457 for an instant $3 donation.
