Toward the end of her life, the cancer in Dainere Anthoney's spine made it impossible for the 15-year-old to undertake some of the activities on her "special list" (she didn't like referring to it as a "bucket list").
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So she sent in the next best thing.
Dainere's favourite teddy bear, Theodore, had travelled everywhere with his owner since the age of four, and in her final months he was right beside her as she realised her dreams of feeding a cheetah and riding in a Hummer with her.
When a wheelchair-bound Dainere was in too much pain to rock climb, Theodore put on a tiny harness to climb on Dainere's behalf.
Theodore was the favourite of Dainere's collection of 14 Myer Christmas Bears - a huge collection that started the year she was born in 1998 and continues to this day.
Being surrounded by the bears gave Dainere incredible comfort during her four-year battle with brain cancer; a fight that began in 2011 with a brain tumour and ended with Dainere's death in 2013. (She was buried with Theodore.)
In an announcement this week, retailer Myer confirmed this year's Christmas Bear is named Anthony - a tribute to Dainere and the entire Anthoney family.
Anthony the bear will be available for purchase at every Myer store in Australia, with $1 from every bear going to the Myer Stores Community Fund.
It's an announcement the Anthoney family, based in Gungahlin, can't quite believe.
"It was a bit like when the street [in Canberra suburb Denman Prospect] was named after Dainere - we thought, is this for real?" Dainere's mum Yvonne said.
"And it was real.
"We went out to the cemetery, like we always do, to tell her and then you'll see sunlight or a breeze blow or a butterfly or a bird and you think, Dainere knows."
Dressed in a shirt and tie and a dapper houndstooth jacket, Anthony the bear's design was inspired by a drawing created by Dainere herself.
So obsessed with the Myer bears was the softly spoken teen, she would spend months ahead of Christmas drawing and guessing what this year's bear would look like. Anthony is inspired by her final drawing from Christmas 2012.
The idea to name a bear for Dainere came from Canberra woman Anna Chrysostomou, who met Dainere through the Starlight Foundation.
"That smile of hers would be from ear to ear," Anna said, thinking about Dainere's response to having a bear named after her.
"Her happiness would be boundless - she was very much a young girl who loved Christmas and anything to do with Christmas. Her excitement leading up to Christmas was always immense."
From the second she was diagnosed with a high-risk medulloblastoma at age 11, Dainere was a force for brain cancer awareness.
She wrote a blog on her cancer journey (later published as a book - You Have to Go Through a Storm to Get to a Rainbow). She wrote children's books on inclusion starring none other than her favourite teddy bear, Theodore, and staged many fundraisers to raise awareness and funds for paediatric brain tumours.
Today, the Anthoney family continues her legacy through the Dainere's Rainbow Brain Tumour Research Fund. To date, the fund has raised more than $300,000 for research.
A Myer spokesperson said the company's merchandise team was touched by Dainere’s courageous journey and how her collection of Myer Christmas Bears had supported her throughout her illness.
"Dainere’s heart-warming story of strength, optimism and her continued drive to support other children battling illness touched us all," the spokesperson said.
"Her story reinforced that for so many children the Myer Christmas Bear is more than just a bear."
The Myer Christmas Bear is available in all Myer stores and online and retails for $19.99. Each time Anthony goes to a new family, Myer donates $1 to the Myer Stores Community Fund.
The Anthoney family will travel to Melbourne in early November as guests of Myer to officially open the retailer's animated Christmas windows.
