'As my friend died of cancer, my partner and I made a life-changing decision.'

Anne Nipperess always wanted to be a mother.

The single mum lived for her three children, Jorgee, 17, Charlee, 14, and Kurt, eight.

It was an attribute neighbour Courtney Geens admired when she met the NSW mother while living on the same street in 2017.

"Anne cherished every moment of being a mum," Courtney tells Mamamia. "She always put her kids above her needs, she would do anything for them."

As the years passed, their friendship grew.

Courtney's 11-year-old son Zandah played with Anne's kids in the street, the mums took turns babysitting and marked family milestones as one.

They imagined watching their kids grow up together.

Courtney with Anne's children, Jorgee, Charlee, and Kurt. Image: Supplied.

But in October 2023, all that changed.

Courtney drove Anne to the doctor's appointment that changed their lives forever. She sat next to Anne when she heard the words, 'metastatic melanoma'.

Anne had no other symptoms, apart from a headache, before her diagnosis.

But unbeknown to her, a melanoma she thought was removed in 2017, had continued to grow in her lungs and brain.

Her prognosis was terminal. She had months, maybe even just weeks, to live.

"I had to put my brave face on," Courtney explains. "When Anne was diagnosed, it was a shock, to say the least. A lot of thoughts were running around and lots of emotion."

As Anne stared down a dark nightmare, Courtney remained an illuminating presence.

Courtney never left Anne's side, dropping into her home daily, doing the school runs, and as a nurse, helped interpret medical terms to bring comfort during a time of terrifying uncertainty.

"It was tough, but I had to do it," Courtney says. "I had to get her kids through the most difficult time they will ever experience, and to make it easier for Anne."

The hardest part was staying stoic for Anne's children, especially the eldest daughter, Jorgee who became her mother's carer.

"Watching your friend deteriorate in front of you is hard to bear, reassuring her daughter Jorgee was also difficult," Courtney says. "I mean, how do you console a 17-year-old that knows their mother is going to die?"

Courtney remembers Anne's health deteriorating quickly, but any discomfort came second to her heartbreak over leaving her kids with no parents.

"Her only stress was 'Where are my children going to go?'," Courtney says. "She wanted them to stay together."

The same thought plagued Courtney ever since the first doctor's appointment.

Anne's then seven-year-old son Kurt had suffered the death of his dad as a toddler.

The father of Anne's two daughters lived interstate and wasn't a part of their lives.

"There were a lot of questions in my mind, but the main one was, 'What will happen to the children'," Courtney admits.

It was seeing Anne tormented by her children's futures, that Courtney came to a life-altering realisation.

The mother-of-one wanted Jorgee, Charlee and Kurt in her family forever.

The decision to adopt Anne's children came easy to her, but partner Nathan Donnarumma had an internal battle about growing his family from three to six.

"I was on the fence, I had a bit of a conversation to myself," he says.

"I came to the decision by thinking how would I feel if I was in that predicament? There weren't many options, I knew this would be the best one, so I said, 'let's do it'."

"In honouring her wish to keep them together… we chose to care for them," Courtney says. "All we wanted was to have them still be in a loving environment."

Courtney remembers Anne being "extremely grateful", and it was a "sense of relief".

Watch: Charlize Theron on adopting her daughters. Post continues after video.

And with that relief, Anne was able to make the most of the time she had left.

Jorgee, who courageously stepped up as her mum's carer, remembers honouring her mum's wish to be home for Christmas, despite her health worsening.

"What was hard was trying to explain to my brother that mum's not well," Jorgee says. "Mum wouldn't respond, she wasn't the same."

After two days at home, wheelchair-bound, and with her children caring for her, Anne was taken back to hospital on Boxing Day.

Courtney and Jorgee cared for Anne together, delivering medication and aiding her ailing frame. The haunting moments forged an incredible connection between the pair.

And they were both by Anne's side when she took her final breaths. She was just 41 years old and only three months had passed since her diagnosis.

After Anne's sudden death, Courtney and Nathan were forced into organisation mode.

The couple not only planned Anne's funeral, her 'death admin', and sorted her belongings, but they reorganised their own lives as adoptive parents to three children.

Combining two houses into one new home, new schools for four children, and managing the intense grief of children who no longer have a mother.

Jorgee is in deep pain without her mum but has found joy in her new family.

She calls it "exciting" moving in with Courtney and Nathan, and a "relief" having no one in her care anymore, after carrying a greater load than most teens.

"I can focus on myself and just be a teenager," Jorgee says.

Courtney with Jorgee, Charlee, and Kurt. Image: Supplied.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help give Anne's children the best start to life. At the very least, they hope to gift a magical Christmas.

"We want to give them a Christmas to cherish, as opposed to last year where they watched their mother deteriorate… and found unwrapped presents when moving," Nathan says.

Their biggest hope for Anne's children is for them to know love.

"You just want what's best for them, to be protected and safe… and start adulthood knowing that they have people around them that are here, who love and support them."

To support Courtney, Nathan, and their kids, visit their GoFundMe page here.

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Feature image: Supplied.