Dainere is 12 years old.
Just over a year ago, she was diagnosed with a malignant and aggressive brain tumour.
Since then, nothing has been the same for Dainere, her parents Yvonne and Stephen, and her siblings Nalani and Jarrett.
You can read all about it in her book, “You have to go through a storm to get to a rainbow”, which launches this week. It’s an adaptation of Dainere’s blog, where she continues to write with extraordinary maturity and candour about her journey with cancer.
I was able to spend a couple of hours with Dainere and her family while I was in Canberra last weekend, and I feel so blessed to have met them! It’s rare to see this much love, courage and humour in one family, and seeing it in the face of such adversity leaves a lasting impression.
Anyway, enough words. Here are some photos, all taken in or near Dainere’s home. Also starring Tinkerbell and Theodore. Enjoy
Thanks so much to the Anthoney family for welcoming me into your lives to have these photos taken! I feel richer for having met you. Dainere, I’m sorry I can’t make it to your book launch, but I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic, and I can’t wait to read all about it on your blog!
Thanks also to Carol Duncan from 1233 ABC Newcastle and Tess from the Starlight Children’s Foundation for making this very special portrait session happen. Twitter helped, too
In the lead-up to Dainere’s book launch, her story was featured on Stateline recently. Click here to check it out.
To buy Dainere’s book, click here. Proceeds will be donated to brain tumour research. I’m off to pre-order mine now
by luke
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