Tradies pitch in to help bring much-loved mum home after debilitating diagnosis

"She gave birth to three kids unmedicated, but the back pain was unbearable," said daughter Shyla Moore, 22.

Donna, 49, had been to the emergency department at Gosford Hospital a few times.

"They tested her heart and lungs, but found nothing. So they sent her home with pain relief," Ms Moore said.

"She went back for a fifth time in three weeks, so they did an MRI.

"They found a tumour and sent her to Royal North Shore immediately."

Ms Mullens was diagnosed with a rare cancer in her spinal cord in April.

Doctors told her the astrocytoma glioma was usually found in the brains of children.

She is taking a trial drug to treat the cancer, along with a chemotherapy drug that she will take once a week for two years.

"She did 30 days of the maximum dose of radiation," Ms Moore said.

She had surgery on her spinal cord to remove some of the tumour.

"Her body reacted and she had a humungous build-up of fluid in her spine," Ms Moore said.

"This paralysed her from the waist down. She was bedbound for almost four weeks."

Ms Mullens has been learning how to use a wheelchair and get in and out of bed at a rehabilitation centre.

The community has rallied to help bring her home.

Tradesmen have been renovating her home at Narara on the Central Coast.

"They are a godsend. They've done renovations with free labour. All I have to try to fund are the materials," Ms Moore said.

"They've been here every Saturday for weeks. They demolished our bathroom and built a brand new one.

"They made a new driveway for my mum. We live on a hill and have 10 steps to our front door, so it would never work without a ramp."

Ms Moore started a GoFundMe for her mum, called "Bring Donna Home".

"Within eight hours, there was $20,000 in there," she said.

"Mum has 700 friends on Facebook. Everyone knows her. I can't go to the shops with her because she runs into about 15 people.

"She's a big part of the community. She's always been a big part of dancing, football, basketball and netball. She's been a coach, manager and member of committees."

She said it was hard for the family without her mum being home.

Ms Moore, sister Aria, 19, brother Sonny, 12, and their dad Kris have been keeping busy to cope.

"We're strong people. We don't sit here and cry, but it's definitely affected everyone differently," she said.

"If it wasn't for these people who have reached out and helped, it would definitely be different."

She said her mum has visitors every day.

"If they can shrink the tumour, they don't know how damaged the spinal nerves will be," she said.

Family and friends are hoping for the best.

"If the tumour shrinks, she might miraculously learn how to walk again," Ms Moore said.