It’s the only bell more wonderful than jingle bells.

When six-year-old Laylah-Jane Morton rang the bell at the Queensland Children’s Hospital, it marked the end of her chemotherapy treatment for blood cancer.

And she had her merry band of eight siblings with her to help her celebrate.

Her siblings, ranging in age from two to 18, wore ‘brother of a warrior’ and ‘sister of a warrior’ T-shirts for the occasion.

An 11-year-old girl with long hair and cancer recovery T-shirt stands and looks at camera in hospital

Laylah’s sister Charlee-Mae Morton, aged 11. The sisters are part of a blended family of nine children. (ABC News: Janelle Miles)

It was a Christmas wish come true for the blended family, including parents Emma and Ciaran Morton, who were rocked by Laylah’s leukaemia diagnosis in mid-2023.

Back then, Laylah’s sister Charlee-Mae wrote a letter to Santa.

“I know you probably can’t grant this wish, but the most thing I want is for Laylah to get better,” she wrote.

A red-headed woman with glasses poses with two young children, including one with no hair after cancer treatment

Laylah-Jane Morton with her mother Emma Morton in 2023 while undergoing cancer treatment. (Supplied: Emma Morton)

The 11-year-old wept during Laylah’s bell ringing ceremony, days out from Christmas Day, with her wish finally granted.

“It’s a little emotional, just remembering everything that has happened,” Charlee said. 

“She’s amazing. She’s a really good sister. She’s just full of sass.”

‘It feels like a Christmas miracle’

Laylah’s mum was 14 weeks’ pregnant with youngest daughter Sophia when her then three-year-old was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia after weeks complaining of fevers and a sore right arm.

At the time, the family lived in Warwick, south-west of Brisbane.

Ms Morton said the local hospital turned them away several times, telling them Laylah had no more than a virus.

A 4-year-old girl with a tube through her nose smiles as she holds a newborn baby in a hospital ward

Laylah with her baby sister, Sophia. Sophia was born about six months after Laylah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. (Supplied: Emma Morton)

The little girl was finally diagnosed with cancer when her mum took her back to the emergency department and refused to leave until “she gets checked over properly”.

Laylah was flown to Brisbane, where she began treatment at the Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) the next day.

“Her being unwell was scary,” Ms Morton said.

“It was very scary for a while.”

The siblings were separated for months, with some children staying in Leukaemia Foundation accommodation and others being cared for in Warwick by Ms Morton’s brother, Ben Riley.

A colourful sign on a grassy spot saying 'Go Laylah'

A sign made to mark the end of Laylah’s treatment for leukaemia at Queensland Children’s Hospital. (ABC News: Janelle Miles)

They were eventually reunited when the family secured a rental property at Flagstone, in Logan, south of Brisbane.

“To have all the family together … to have her healthy, it feels like a Christmas miracle,” Ms Morton said.

“It’s the finish of something so scary and then the start of something so beautiful.

“That is the only present we need. It’s something money can’t buy. You just can’t buy anything better than her health.”

‘She’s shown everybody so much courage’

QCH cancer specialist David Deambrosis — the man Ms Morton describes as a hero — attended his patient’s bell-ringing ceremony.

“He’s like Laylah’s best friend. She just absolutely loves him,” Ms Morton said.

“They have a little nickname for each other. They call each other Stinkpot.

A middle-aged doctor in hospital scrubs puts his arm around small girl in a medical setting

Six-year-old Laylah-Jane Morton with her Queensland Children’s Hospital cancer specialist, Dr Dave Deambrosis. (ABC News: Nicole Miles)

“If no-one could get Laylah to do anything, it was like, let’s just get onto Dave and as soon as she knew he was coming, she just lit up. 

“She knew, ‘Yep, I’m safe’. He’s going to be here for me. He’s just such a wonderful doctor. We could not have got through it without him.”

Ms Morton also paid tribute to her daughter’s courage during her health ordeal.

“You watch your child get so ill, so tiny, they can’t eat, they’re in pain a lot, they lose all their hair. It’s quite big for someone so little that doesn’t understand why their hair’s falling out,” the proud mum said.

“I want everyone to know how strong she was.

“She’s shown everybody so much courage.”

A smiling six-year-old girl with brown hair in brown spotted sweatshirt holds two puppies in each arm

Six-year-old Laylah-Jane Morton with her dogs after recovering from cancer. (Supplied: Emma Morton)

QCH clinical nurse consultant in oncology, Lucy Seymour, described Laylah as “an absolute firecracker”.

“She’s been an amazing little girl like most of our kids that we treat,” Ms Seymour said.

“They take it much better than adults do — they take it all in their stride.”

Laylah will continue to attend the hospital as an outpatient for regular check-ups.

“I’m still going to be nervous that she might relapse but we’re just going to take it day by day and just be thankful,” her mum said.