The White-Hannon family, Paihia

Billee White-Hannon smiles in a red top with with shaved head and nasal tube

When Billee White-Hannon from Paihia was 4 she began suffering from severe pain in her legs and tummy. A concerned Mum and Dad took her to their local GP where tests were done but they could not find anything wrong.

Months of hospital visits and tests and Billee still hadn’t improved. Eventually after six months she was diagnosed with acute myloid leukaemia when she began six months of intensive chemotherapy. Northland families with oncology issues all come to Auckland for their treatment as Starship is the treatment centre for the upper North Island region.

Billee and her Mum Saffron (and sometimes her Dad Stephen) have packed and unpacked their bags countless times since first arriving at Ronald McDonald House Auckland in April 2008. Her initial chemotherapy was followed by a bone marrow transplant days before Christmas.

Sadly Billee’s treatment to date has not beaten the disease and she is now receiving palliative care back home in Paihia.

Thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation Billee and her family are about to embark on a road trip around the North island where they will spend some quality time together as well as stopping in to see some of the families they met while staying at Ronald McDonald House Auckland.

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