Meet Miracle Ava Australia's Bravest Little Girl

Despite her battles, this young cancer fighter still makes everyone smile.

- Megan Rowe

As she introduces the nurses to her precious collection of toy animals, Ava Wake’s smile lights up the room. But behind the grin, the adorable toddler is facing a harrowing battle no child should have to endure – she’s been diagnosed with stage four Neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer that forms in the nerve tissue.

The bubbly tot had just celebrated her second birthday in March last year when out of the blue she become lethargic, stopped playing with her treasured animals and started crying in pain.

Her mother Leanne Shaw, 32, panicked when her little girl stopped eating and struggled to move around their Melbourne home.

But nothing could’ve prepared her and fiance James, 37, for the grim diagnosis they received 10 days later.

“I’ve blocked it from my mind because it was so hard,” social worker Leanne tells Woman’s Day. “I just couldn’t comprehend how our little two-year-old, who up until 11 days earlier was so happy, bubbly and healthy, had stage four cancer and could die within months if she didn’t start aggressive treatment immediately.”