Meet Indi and her mum Aneke
When 9-year-old Indi took the stage to speak at Sparkle for Hope, she delivered her opening line and applause erupted from the crowd. Read on to hear what childhood cancer is like from a child and her mother’s perspective.
A warm audience eagerly watched the Wealleans family take the stage in Christchurch on the evening of May 17, 2025 for the Sparkle for Hope Gala Dinner & Ball.
It’s not often you meet someone who has beaten cancer twice, let alone a child.
And there she was, confidently approaching the podium with a radiant smile and parents Aneke and Adam following close behind. Indi shared what it was like to have a life-threatening tumour wrapped around her spinal cord at just 2 years old, and have it return aggressively a few short years later. Step by step, she walked the crowd through her journey and received a roaring standing ovation.
Mum Aneke was up next, revealing more of the emotional turmoil and heartbreak parents face as they hold their child through painful tests and treatments. Even though Indi has no signs of disease now, Aneke expressed a truth that so many families feel deep to their core – the cancer journey is never over. It forever remains a part of them.
And still, there were moments of joy, strength and insight the Wealleans family never expected to take with them, as well.
For them, Child Cancer Foundation played a huge role in being able to get through the unimaginable – twice.
Read on to hear what childhood cancer can be like, from Indi and Aneke, in their own words.
Indi’s speech
Hello, my name is Indi Wealleans, I am 9 years old and I have beaten cancer twice.
My cancer journey started in 2019 when I was 2 years old. One night, I fell out of bed and hurt my neck. Little did we know falling out of bed is what saved my life.
The GP sent me for x-rays and they came back fine, but my Mum knew there was something wrong. She kept taking me back to the doctor until they agreed to do an MRI.
About 1 hour after the MRI was done, I went in an ambulance to the airport and then on a Life Flight to Starship Hospital in Auckland.
I had surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible. It was wrapped around my spinal cord and the main arteries to my brain.
A few days later we were told I had a rare cancer called Ewing Sarcoma.
Once I had recovered from surgery I came back home to Christchurch. Over the next 9 months I had chemotherapy every 2 weeks and spent 164 nights in hospital.
I don’t remember much because I was so little, but I do remember being excited to get Beads of Courage from the lady at the Child Cancer Foundation.
Each bead represents a procedure, treatment or milestone in my cancer journey. For example, a clinic visit, blood transfusion, blood test, dressing change just to name a few. I ended up with 1285 beads!
My end of treatment scans in September 2019 showed that I was cancer free.
My little sister Ivy was born in May 2022 on my 6th birthday. Three months later I started getting a sore back. Mum knew straight away what it was and called my oncologist.
I had an MRI and it showed that the cancer had come back, this time a little further down my spine. Because of my previous spinal surgeries, I couldn’t have surgery this time, so chemotherapy got started right away.
At first I was a bit upset, I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me again. I was in so much pain and Mum explained that although the medicine would make me better it would once again make my hair fall out.
That made me really sad for a few days. I had just spent the last 3 years growing it back! Treatment for my relapse included 6 months of high dose chemotherapy, 28 days of radiation and then another 6 months of maintenance chemotherapy.
After 1 year of treatment my scans showed that I was cancer free again! I was so happy because I could go back to school and see all my friends and go back to gymnastics and ballet lessons.
I have now finished treatment and have been in remission for nearly 2 years. I go to the hospital every 4 months to see my oncologist and get x-rays and an MRI to make sure everything is ok. I also go to Starship Hospital every 6 months for them to check on my spine and I will need surgery within the next couple of years to strengthen it.
I know I still have some hurdles to overcome with the late effects of treatment, but I believe with all my heart that my cancer journey is over. I love my life and making every day the best day.
My favourite things about Child Cancer Foundation are all the fun activities we get to do with the Whānau Connect group and my family support coordinator Gabi. The Whanau Connect Group helps families stay connected with other families that have children with cancer.
Gabi would come visit me on the ward or at my house and we would also stop by the Family Place to see her on the way back to the car. The Family Place is the Christchurch office for Child Cancer Foundation, It’s close to the hospital and somewhere families can go to hang out.
Gabi always had lots of treats for me and of course more Beads of Courage!
Thank you all for being here tonight, listening to my story and supporting such a wonderful charity.
Aneke’s speech
Well, how do I follow that!!
Our names are Aneke and Adam, and we are extremely proud and privileged to say we are Indi’s parents
Indi is the strongest, bravest person we know.
She has been through more in her 9 years than most do in a lifetime and she has done it all with a positive attitude, always looking for the silver linings and finding fun in the littlest of things.
We didn’t get her through treatment, she got us through.
We drew our strength from her because she had enough for us all.
We never thought we would hear the words ‘your child has cancer’, nobody does. And even when you do hear those words you don’t believe it is true. You think surely there has been a mistake. Surely not my child.
But it is your child, and reality slaps you in the face very quickly.
Within a few weeks, your once vibrant, energetic child is pale, vomiting, has a nasal tube to be fed, a central line in their chest, struggles to get out of the hospital bed and then the real kicker — all their hair falls out. There is no escaping reality then. It’s like a neon sign flashing above their beautiful bald head.
You have to make your child do things they really don’t want to do. You have to hold them down while they scream and fight against you, all while your heart is breaking.
They don’t understand you are doing it for them, not to them. You hold back the tears and plaster a smile on your face because you need to be strong for them. The tears can wait until they are asleep.
You find a strength you didn’t think you were capable of, you find joy in the littlest of things, you appreciate each moment, you start committing everything to memory just in case. Time stands still, yet soldiers on. You get lost in a bubble where nothing matters apart from your child. There becomes a before and an after.
We have always said in our misfortune we have been very fortunate. We have met the strongest, most resilient children and families, and extremely selfless people who restore your faith in humanity.
We have gotten to spend so much time with Indi we wouldn’t normally have had.
You start striving to make every moment better than the last. From dance parties at midnight, to riding dinosaur balloons in the corridors and ice cream on demand 24/7, anything that would put a smile on her beautiful face.
When you become a ‘cancer parent’, you join a club that you didn’t want an invite to.
Some people you thought would be there beside you aren’t and other people you don’t expect turn up.
It’s hard to ask for help. It’s hard to even know what would help. That’s where Child Cancer Foundation comes in. You don’t have to ask, they just come and do.
Child Cancer Foundation plays a huge role in a child and their family’s cancer journey.
Within the space of a few days a family support coordinator was knocking on our ward door, explaining all the ways they could support us. From the Beads of Courage programme to petrol vouchers, help paying power bills, even a free carpark close to the hospital so when you arrive at 3am in the middle of winter it’s not far to go.
Their support is consistent, an anchor in a situation where everything is so uncertain.
When treatment finishes, Child Cancer Foundation’s support continues.
There are family activity days through the Whānau Connect group, Christmas parties, counselling sessions, personal development grants, and access to the holiday house in Arrowtown, somewhere you can go as a family to recharge and reconnect. But above all, you have someone to talk to who knows what you have been through.
It is a common misconception that once treatment finishes you can just get back to normal and it’s over. I can tell you it is never over. You will forever carry it around with you.
Child Cancer Foundation walks the path alongside you, and we cannot explain how grateful we are for that.
Lastly but certainly not least, we would like to thank everyone here tonight. Your kindness and generosity make it possible for Child Cancer Foundation to support families like ours when it is needed the most.
We have an overwhelming need to make sure that the families that follow will also have the same level of support we have had, so being here tonight and seeing you all here helping to ensure that happens makes our hearts very full.
Thank you once again and have a wonderful evening.
