When fate persists. Two New Zealand girls, aged 4 and 6, lost their parents to cancer within a week of each other between May and June 2024, reports The New Zealand Herald. Since then, they have been taken in by their uncle and aunt. The story moved people around the world, raising nearly 164,000 euros (NZ$293,000) through an online donation drive.
Remission then relapse
For this family, the difficulties began at the beginning of 2023. The father was diagnosed with brain cancer. Then, right after, the mother learned that she had triple positive breast cancer. She had to undergo surgery and undergo six months of chemotherapy until she was on the path to remission. The father saw his condition continue to deteriorate.
The situation then deteriorated again for the mother in February 2024. She suffered from migraines, loss of vision, back pain and severe fatigue. The father “was dying at the time, we knew he wouldn't come home, so it was put down to stress,” the aunt said. However, additional tests at the end of April revealed that she was in fact suffering from a rare complication called leptomeningeal cancer, in which the disease spreads to the brain and spinal cord.
Two little girls supported
Finally, the father and mother died on May 31 and June 7 respectively. “The hospital staff were in tears at their bedside,” the aunt recalled. She was responsible for breaking the news to the two little girls, with the help of hospital staff and a mental health support service. “They didn’t even know their father was going to die. So I had to sit them down and tell them that both their parents were going to die,” she recalled. Since then, the two little girls have lived at home in Auckland. This was obvious for the uncle and aunt, especially since their two sons, who had gone to university, had already taken care of their cousins during their parents' convalescence.
The two orphans were able to benefit from the support of their family members, many of whom traveled during the death. They also now live near their grandparents. “They are doing incredibly well…” admitted the aunt, emphasizing however that the grieving process is still ongoing. For his part, the uncle, who lost his brother, wanted to thank the approximately 4,400 people who participated in the prize pool. “We just want to say it made a huge, huge difference,” he said.
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