Rotorua girl starts two and a half years of leukaemia treatment at Starship children’s hospital

When 4-year-old Rotorua girl Atarangi Taikato-Bowden had a swollen puku for a week, her parents thought she had constipation.

Instead, she was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Speaking from Starship children’s hospital, her mother Skye Taikato-Bowden said their whānau had been in Auckland since August 2, marking the start of Atarangi’s two and a half years of cancer treatment.

If her tests come back clear on September 2, Atarangi will be in remission and the whānau can return to Rotorua, continuing treatment predominantly at Rotorua Hospital, she said.

Rotorua girl Atarangi Taikato-Bowden was diagnosed with leukaemia on August 1.

Atarangi is Taikato-Bowden’s only daughter of four children.

“I just can’t put into words what she means to me.”

‘Your girl’s got leukaemia’

Taikato-Bowden told the Rotorua Daily Post Atarangi was diagnosed with leukaemia on August 1.

She and her husband Horace Bowden initially thought Atarangi had constipation.

“But her puku was a little swollen and after a bit, it just didn’t go down even after she’d had her bowel movements.”

That’s when they started thinking something was wrong.

In hindsight, Atarangi had other symptoms including bruising that did not go away, feeling lethargic and weak, Taikato-Bowden said.

After about a week of symptoms, they went to Rotorua Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Atarangi Taikato-Bowden is at Starship children's hospital getting cancer treatment.

Taikato-Bowden thought Atarangi might have had a bacterial infection in her intestine - “just something logical and small like that”.

The doctors ran some tests.

“And that’s when they came back and said, ‘Would you like to ring your husband and get him to come back? We just want to talk to you together’.”

Taikato-Bowden asked the doctor to tell her.

“He just looked at me so sad and said, ‘I’m so sorry, it’s not constipation, your girl’s got leukaemia’.”

She was in a “state of shock”.

“You never wish it on your worst enemy, to feel so helpless, how do you take your baby’s mamae [pain] away?”

‘I can’t leave her’

Taikato-Bowden said they stayed in Rotorua Hospital that night.

The next day, Atarangi was taken to Starship in an ambulance. Her 20-year-old brother, Tehimana Taikato - “who’s like her best friend” - went with her.

Taikato-Bowden, Bowden and their 3-year-old son Te Ariki Taikato-Bowden drove to Starship.

“We’ve never really left this floor since.”

The family have a place to stay at Ronald McDonald House in Auckland but Taikato-Bowden has spent most nights at the hospital with Atarangi.

“I can’t even leave her - not for a moment. I stayed one night down at Ronald McDonald House and it was just agony.”

She said having cancer had been “pretty hard” on Atarangi.

“But she’s so resilient and she’s so strong. And I’m not going to lie - we have some really ugly times.”

She said it took a couple of days to process the diagnosis.

“And then from there, we’re just having bouts of this superhuman strength to super vulnerable, crumbling, crying ... ”

She said Atarangi was having the “induction phase” of treatment - “where they really hit you hard”.

After that, Atarangi would be assessed to see how aggressive the cancer was before starting the “maintenance phase” of treatment.

Taikato-Bowden said Atarangi would have her third lumbar puncture on September 2.

“If that comes back clear, we can officially say that we are in remission.”

Atarangi would continue treatment predominantly at Rotorua Hospital and go to Starship once per month, she said.

She said doctors have told them she had a 90% chance of the cancer not returning in five years due to her age.

The whānau had initially set up a Givealittle page after they thought their car had been stolen while they were in Auckland.

An update on the page on August 28 said their car had been found and had not been stolen. They were working with Givealittle to refund anyone who wished to retract their contribution.

The whānau thanked everyone for their donations. They planned to sell their two vehicles to buy something “more reliable”, knowing they had many return trips ahead of them between Rotorua and Starship.

“With the donations we have received we plan to buy a new vehicle, subsidise our increased living expenses with one part of the whānau in Rotorua and the other in Tāmaki, and we would love to do Atarangi’s bedroom up for when she finally gets home,” the update said.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.