Casey Frost, survivor

Casey Frost was nine when diagnosed with a brain tumour five years ago.
The quietly-spoken teenager spoke about the debilitating time when she had migraines and always felt sick, before the diagnosis.
Double vision and loss of balance rang alarm bells and her mother Tania Frost-Tolland knew something was wrong.
"Casey got worse and started falling over all the time."
They returned to the doctor who sent them straight to Taranaki Base Hospital for an MRI scan.
The scan detected a tumour the size of a tennis ball.
Within half-an-hour Casey was on her way to the Children's Cancer ward at Wellington Hospital.
Casey said she was scared because she did not know what was going on.
She was old enough to know there was something wrong, but did not fully comprehend what it meant.
But Tania did. She was petrified for her middle child. "It came out of the blue."
Casey underwent a gruelling 11-hour operation which Tania said, "was the worst day of my life."
For Casey's older sister Stephanie and young brother Daniel, it was a difficult time.
"I did not like to see her like that."
"We did not know what kind of tumour it was, and because of where the tumour was growing, there was a chance of brain damage or paralysis if the operation did not go well."
The tumour was growing close to the nerves on the left side of Casey's body.
With medical precision the doctors cut out the tumour, slither-by-slither, and succeeded in the operation.
Casey and Tania said the Ronald McDonald House at Wellington was brilliant as was the cancer ward.
After Casey returned home, brain fluid leaked out of the back of her head and she returned to Wellington. She developed blood clots and was diagnosed with a protein S-blood deficiency.
Casey now has a shunt a fine tube that has been inserted at the base of her head and runs down to her stomach to drain any fluid.
She counts herself as one of the lucky ones because she did not require chemotherapy.
Although Casey is out of the woods, she goes for regular check-ups every year and an MRI scan every 18 months.
"I've made some awesome friends through Child Cancer and I think about those who were really sick and had to have chemotherapy.
"My close friend Amber Lister has been through the same as me and is a big support, and my mum is a good friend." Tania thinks Casey is awesome.
Casey is a student at Stratford High School and loves netball and swimming.