Former little Telethon star Nora marks 10 year anniversary of neuroblastoma diagnosis with first day of school

When her eight-month-old baby was paralysed from the neck down after a shock cancer diagnosis, Naomi Holly could barely imagine a future in which her daughter Nora could even learn to walk — let alone finish primary school. Ten years later, on the anniversary of the day doctors found an aggressive tumour on Nora’s spine, she is starting her first day of Year 6. In a strange twist, Monday is also neuroblastoma awareness day. Ms Holly vividly recalls February 2, 2016, when she was told a neuroblastoma was crushing Nora’s spinal cord and medics had 24 hours to relieve the pressure before it became fatal. She had first taken Nora to hospital because she had stopped crawling. A few days later, she was unable to move her limbs at all. Nora was given emergency chemotherapy treatment, but her family was warned she may never walk again. “Now 10 years later, seeing that she’s going to be graduating from primary school this year and going to high school is in some ways unbelievable,” Ms Holly said. “And I’m so grateful that she’s getting to be here and do these milestones.” Netball-loving Nora — who was a Little Telethon Star in 2020 — was excited to don her new leavers’ jumper for her last year at Mary’s Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill. She said even though she was “a bit nervous”, she was excited to see all her friends and take on her new role as a student leader for wellbeing. For Ms Holly, the first-day drop-off was a special moment, which will be up there with other longed-for milestones such as Nora graduating high school or going to her school ball. “It’s a moment that we weren’t sure we’d ever see,” she said. “When she was in treatment I used to try and imagine and dream of these milestones, because I believed that if I could see them in my mind, they would hopefully come to life. “This was definitely one of those days that I had imagined. So it’s great that I get to walk through that gate with her in her leavers’ top and see her on this journey.”