But in May, as COVID-19 started to his Tasmanian shores and pandemonium took over, Sharlette and her family received a life-changing diagnosis that she had a cancerous brain tumour.

"When we first received the heart-breaking news on May 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I could not believe that this was all happening to my baby girl," Sharlette's mum Cassie Bardsley said.

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Due to the relative remoteness of St Helens, which is a two-hour drive to Launceston and three-hours from Hobart, there were no facilities for Sharlette to receive her treatment.

This meant Cassie and Sharlette had to make provisions to travel between Hobart and Melbourne for two surgeries, six weeks of radiation therapy and four months of chemotherapy.

While Sharlette battled through the surgery, the emotional impact of watching her daughter's overwhelming fight bore heavily on her mother.

Ms Bardsley said having to put up a steely exterior for her daughter ended up taking a toll.

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"After the surgery, I broke down because I could no longer lie to myself with seeing the physical impact of the treatment. It just tore me in half. I had to stay strong for Sharlette so she did not feel that her condition was upsetting me," she said.

"A lot of the time it was all to confronting and hard to handle, wishing I could just have someone there to cry on their shoulder or even just a hug.

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"It's been really hard for my family as she is the first grandchild in her generation who is loved by everyone. It broke my family in so many different ways not knowing what's going to happen and not being able to see her anymore."

Sharlette kept fighting and has managed to emerge from the extensive cancer treatment.

Although, it has come at a financial and physical cost.

The type of tumour Sharlette was diagnosed with is called medullablastoma.

In Sharlette's case the tumour slowly made its presence felt - first when Sharlette was 18-months-old and would be tired and lacked an appetite, but it was most obvious when she woke up one morning in May and her left eye was struggling to communicate with her brain.

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After the treatment, due to the nature of the tumour, Sharlette continues to face struggles.

On any day it may be a repeat of those early signs including fatigue or loss of appetite, or it could be anxiousness, low self-esteem or impacted mobility and verbal communication that will stand in her way.

With the end of treatment in sight the Bardsleys are preparing to permanently return home to St Helens.

When the family was in St Helens early in 2021, Sharlette enrolled to go back to school and take the next step in her life at prep.

Aiming for an everyday life, Sharlette made one wish to her mother - that she could get a dog called Max.

But for Ms Bardsley, the financial impact of fighting the medullablastoma has left her unable to grant the wish.

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"I don't want to break Shartlette's heart by telling her that amongst all the expensive and life-saving treatments, we can't afford to get little Max," she said.

Ms Bardsley has put a call out to the community through a mycause crowdfunding page to raise the $1500 needed to get Max. Since January $700 has been raised from 11 donations.

Ms Bardsley is hoping to surprise Sharlette with Max when they return to St Helens. Contributions can be made at mycause.com.au/surpriseforsharlette.

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