A 'brave' and 'inspirational' little girl from Saddleworth is hoping to swim with dolphins and take a break from hospital talk after being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.
Nolianni Burns, from Diggle, has been battling medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumour, since 2019 when she was just 10 years old.
When the schoolgirl became ill, the family initially took her to Royal Oldham Hospital where they booked her in for a brain scan a week later.
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to The Oldham Times’ morning and evening newsletters as well as our breaking news alerts
However, when the family noticed Nolianni's eye moving peculiarly later that day, they took her to Manchester Children's Hospital where she was rushed through to a brain scan.
The family said within an hour, they had found a swelling and a tumour on her brain.
Medics at the hospital then told the family that she would have died within three days if they had not intervened with life-saving treatment.
In the last two years, Nolianni has been moved into round-the-clock palliative care, meaning she has missed out on school, family life and other typical teenage activities.
The 14-year-old, who would be going into Year 10 this September at Saddleworth School, went on to endure two brain surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
But despite the aggressive treatment, the family recently received the devastating news that the tumours have now spread throughout her body, onto her spine and legs, and is at stage 4.
Doctors have said there is nothing more they can do, deeming the tumours to be inoperable and inappropriate to be trialled for any of the other pioneering treatments available.
Now that her condition is classed as terminal, the family are hoping to tick off some of the youngsters' special wishes.
The teenager's aunt, Elizabeth Adamson, who is also a parish councillor in Saddleworth, described her niece as "beautiful and brave".
She said: "Nolianni is putting up such a fight and is the strongest, bravest, most inspirational little girl we know.
"She is always smiling and making people laugh and we are so blessed to call her our own.
"Her positive attitude towards life, despite what she has had to endure so far, is nothing but inspirational.
"She has missed out hugely - not just on education but on social interaction with peers her own age.
"She has practically missed out on the whole secondary school experience as she attended for a few odd days in Year 7 but has been too ill and on treatment to attend."
Throughout the last four years, the family has been heavily impacted by Nolianni's illness, particularly mum, Elois Adamson, who has been nursing Nolianni through each treatment and staying overnight with her in hospital.
While dad, Alan Burns, has been transporting them back and forth to appointments and treatments, Nolianni's two older brothers, Joby, 16, and Billy, 21, have missed out on valuable time with their mum and sister.
Elizabeth added: "Quality family time together has been almost impossible.
"Nolianni was just in primary school when she became ill, being sick and lethargic.
"This has been something we, as a family, have lived with for four years."
Before Nolianni's condition took a turn for the worse, her family battled 60mph winds to complete a gruelling fundraising walk to the top of Mount Snowdon, raising £2,800 in the process for the brain tumour charity.
But now as they are slowly coming to terms with the devastating prognosis, Elizabeth said the rest of the family are trying to make sure they spend their remaining time together, doing all the special things they've missed out on over the years.
One such 'special wish' is to ferry the family of five away to sunnier shores for a "holiday of a lifetime" - and where Nolianni can swim with dolphins, which has always been a dream of hers.
As the youngster is predominately wheelchair-bound due to the pain from the tumours, swimming is one of the only activities she can still participate in.
To help Nolianni and her family get to the dolphins and crucially take a well-needed break from hospital talk and treatments, Elizabeth has set up a fundraising page.
Donations have been flooding in and at the time of writing has so far amassed more than £7,000 in Nolianni's wish fund.
Elizabeth added: "We are doing this to give my sister, her husband, niece and nephews a holiday they will never forget and make important memories."
Writing in the GoFundMe page, she said the family will be "eternally grateful" for any help towards making Nolianni's dream a reality.
Donations can be made by visiting the GoFundMe page by Nolianni.
If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here