By MONIQUE DEVEREUX
Jessica Frew of Tauranga had two Christmas wishes this year - to find a bone marrow donor and to receive lots of Christmas mail.
The 9-year-old leukemia patient is still waiting for her first wish, but the second has certainly come true.
Ten days ago Jessica's grandmother rang Radio Pacific with a plea for people to send the little girl Christmas cards to brighten up her hospital room in the Starship.
The plea was also zapped around the country via e-mail.
The response has overwhelmed Jessica and thrilled her father, Aidan.
In the past three mail days, Jessica has received well over 1000 cards, teddy bears, dolls, books and cash donations.
On the first day she spent four hours opening the 275 cards and parcels. The next day it took her father and grandparents eight hours to open the 652 cards and packages that arrived.
Yesterday, another huge box of mail arrived - too much to count or read all at once.
Mr Frew said Jessica read every single card that arrived in the first batch. She has also shared many of the toys she was given with other children in the Starship.
The little girl, who has been in hospital for six months, was just as generous when it came to the cash she had been given.
She used it to put together little Christmas hampers and handed out one to every child in her ward on Christmas Day.
Jessica was not feeling her best yesterday, but wanted to pass on her thanks to everyone who sent her a card and brightened her Christmas.
Said Mr Frew: "We are extremely grateful to everyone for their efforts and support. It really meant a lot to Jessica to know that so many people out there really cared."
He said another gesture that would be appreciated would be if more people made the effort to donate blood and join the bone marrow register, which finds matching marrow for people like Jessica.
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