Brave 3-year-old Laura Taylor’s terminal cancer battle: 1420 beads of courage

Three-year-old Laura Taylor wears 1420 courage beads representing her cancer battle.

Laura Taylor has 1420 beads of courage.

She turns four in July.

That alone tells the story of just what this brave Central Hawke’s Bay girl’s terminal cancer journey has been like.

The yellow beads alone represent 173 nights spent in hospital. The black beads signify 258 blood draws.

Laura’s mum Emma Taylor says the beads themselves only scratch the surface of her journey with terminal high-risk neuroblastoma.

Through it all, her daughter has stayed a happy, sassy, nearly 4-year-old.

“She has gone through hell and back, and she still manages to smile.”

Three-year-old Laura Taylor wears 1420 courage beads representing her cancer battle.

A Givealittle page was set up recently to tick off Laura’s bucket list.

She wants to go again to Bluey’s World in Australia, and anything else the family get from it will go towards making more memories together.

Emma Taylor said Laura, who is one of the only kids with cancer in Central Hawke’s Bay, has a huge love for Mickey Mouse, expresses herself through music and is a quick learner.

“She teaches herself dances and learns lyrics of songs in a day.”

Laura’s cancer was diagnosed a week from her second birthday when it was discovered a tumour in her lower pelvic area had wrapped around her major nerves.

Taylor said the first sign that something was wrong was when Laura had constipation issues, her leg swelled and she refused to walk.

Initially, the diagnosis came back as Osteomyelitis, a bone infection, but three weeks later, it was revealed that it was not the case.

Taylor said her symptoms included limited control over her bladder, bowels and pressure on her sciatic nerves down her legs.

Her kidneys were under so much pressure that she needed to have double nephrostomies in each to reduce extra stress.

Taylor said Laura has been through chemotherapy, radiation, two stem cell transplants, surgery that removed 50% of the tumour and immunotherapy to fight bad cancer cells.

Taylor said surgery to remove the entire tumour would have resulted in complete loss of control of her bowels and bladder and left her unable to walk.

“Everything you can have to cure cancer, Laura has had it.”

Emma Taylor with daughter Laura Taylor, aged 2 at the time. Photo / Jackie Lowry

Taylor said the moment the family found out about the cancer, she felt like everything had been ripped away.

“I still feel as raw today as I did the day finding out about Laura’s cancer.

“When you become a mum, you know that’s your job to love and protect and always care and be that person that provides comfort for your children – when she was diagnosed with cancer, I didn’t have the answers and I couldn’t make it better.”

In May 2024, the family were in the final stages of her 18-month-long treatment plan and received further devastating news.

Routine checks showed the initial tumour had grown and she had new cancer growths on the lymph nodes in her stomach.

Taylor said the family’s shifted focus to providing Laura with the best quality of life.

“This cancer is still too strong and so aggressive that she just can’t beat it.”

Taylor said Laura was aware something wasn’t right, and she had to mature a lot, having been surrounded by adults and hospitals most of her life.

“She hasn’t been able to experience what it is like to be a kid.

“She deserves everything we can give her.”

Donations for Laura and her family can be made here.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.