The family of a Norwich four-year-old who has been battling a rare childhood cancer for more than 18 months are looking ahead to a life-changing 2023.
But first the Buttle family, of Fountains Road, are focusing on having a peaceful festive period together as a five - as last year Kayla was in intensive care in a London hospital with mum Stacey at her side, with her dad Wayne and brothers Riley and Kory, now 10 and eight, in the fine city.
Kayla's journey, which Stacey described as "far from over", started in May 2021 when the then-three-year-old was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer with a 40-50pc chance of long-term survival at diagnosis.
Her diagnosis put the entire Buttle family's life on hold and threw everything into flux - but this month the Magdalen Gates pupil completed her first full day at school as well as attending five days in a row, and appeared in the Nativity play.
"She's full of life," Stacey said.
"And as a family we've come a long way."
At the end of November Stacey and Kayla flew to New York for a month-long stint to start a three-year experimental cancer trial - but the trip was cut short when two scans showed that there are still cancerous cells in her bone marrow, which meant she could not have the first of three years worth of vaccines administered.
She will need treatment such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy to kill the disease before starting pioneering trial treatment which aims to stop her cancer recurring.
Stacey added: "We're now at a bit of a stalemate.
"Doctors in the UK want to take a watch-and-wait approach, because matter left behind in her bone marrow is stable and has been since June last year.
"It hasn't evolved or changed - but there's still something there.
"It's refractory stable disease - it doesn't make me feel great as you want the all-clear.
"But she's still got cancer.
"As parents, we don't want stable for our child, we want clear.
"They're going to scan her in January to see where we're at.
"She is stable - yes, that doesn't mean we're on a homeward stretch - so we need to take a breath, regroup and then get back into it.
"We will look into other options - not to say the NHS aren't great - but if there's something else we can do for her and get her clear, we will try.
"But we've spent 18 months not being a family and living two separate lives, so we're taking a short break to be together.
"I do have hope, I'm not the type to give up.
"I will do whatever I can for her.
"Kayla still has cancer, we can't get away from that. And if we don't treat it, eventually it will kill her. That's the bottom line.
"No-one knows what the future holds.
"But watching Kayla - it's amazing and scary.
"She's bouncing around and full of life - last year we couldn't say that.
"She's cheeky and a sassy diva. She can be as sassy as she wants as long as she survives.
"We've got a big journey ahead of us in 2023. It doesn't end here.
"New York hasn't worked for us yet, but it could. We could go to a trial in Barcelona, so there's more fundraising to be done."
More than £160,000 has been raised so far to give Kayla the best chance of long-term survival.
But with Kayla's future still uncertain, more is needed to cover whatever treatment costs may occur.
Stacey explained that there is currently no end goal due to the unpredictable nature of Kayla's illness. For perspective, in New York an MRI scan of Kayla head alone cost a staggering $12,000.
"We've just got to keep pushing through. I know times are tough for everyone but every little helps," Stacey added.
"We're not stopping. This is far from over."
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