'WHAT do you want for Christmas" asked the department store Santa. "A cure for leukaemia please," replied the child.

That bitter-sweet exchange provides a stark insight into the effect on a family of having a brother or sister with a life-threatening or terminal illness.

Getting through hospital treatment is hard enough for these families, but coping with the more mundane demands of everyday life can sometimes be unbearable.

That's where Rainbow Trust come in. A national charity which aims to support families in this situation, it currently supports just under 100 families in County Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire.

Former hospice worker and bereavement counsellor Hazel Saunders co-ordinates access to Rainbow Trust services in the area. A Londoner who moved to her mother's native North-East four years ago, Hazel started working for Rainbow in 1998.

She loves the work, although she concedes it can be emotionally draining. "The hardest part is when you lose your first child. You get close to the family because of the nature of what we do, but you have to learn to keep your distance. If you don't, you can burn out," says Hazel, who always lights a candle at her home in Fishburn, County Durham, when a child dies.

Thankfully, not all the families Rainbow gets involved with have to cope with bereavement. In many cases, youngsters do recover and the family gets back to normal.

"My aim and the aim of everyone in Rainbow is to help children live every moment of their remaining life. Every second is important," she says.

Hazel is the one who assesses families - who are usually referred by hospitals or hospices because health staff see that they need extra help - and introduces the family to one of Rainbow Trust's three care workers in her team.

But she still "keeps her hand in" and gets personally involved when it's necessary. "The aim is to provide support in the home. What we do is family-led. If they have a need, we try to fit in around them," says Hazel.

Most of the time, the families referred to Rainbow stay on an even keel but, if a crisis occurs, the charity can respond quickly. "We aim to provide support 24 hours a day,

That is particularly important for single parents. If the child is sick in the middle of the night and needs to go to hospital, we can call a worker in who can stay at the house, get the other kids to school and provide a bit of normality," Hazel says.

Alternatively, if there is someone to look after the children, the Rainbow worker sometimes goes with the parent if they want support. "We aim at a flexible service. Sometimes parents will say the real need is to focus on the sick child's brothers and sisters because they're being left out. We aim to get to know the whole family. We take kids out or link up with other children if their illness allows them to mix," she adds.

And Rainbow's involvement with the families can go on for some time. "We stay with the family for as long as they want. It can make it worse when children who have suddenly lost a brother or sister have also lost all the attention of people coming to visit the sick child. To them, it's another loss," says Hazel

Anniversaries are also difficult times for bereaved families and Rainbow support workers are ready to go back at a minute's notice. Families can also take a break at Rainbow Fernstone, a large house in the Northumberland countryside near Hexham. While they are staying, Rainbow workers can pamper them and ensure they have a complete rest.

For Sue Instone, from Billingham, her family's visit to Fernstone provided a blissful break.

"We didn't know we could go on a respite break. We got there and then Rainbow took over. They cooked the meals, they did our washing, it was just a total break... it was the only holiday we ever had with Sam, before he died last May."

Sue's family were referred to Rainbow by doctors at North Tees Hospital in Stockton, who were treating Sam, Sue and Ian Instone's first child.

Shortly after Sam was born, doctors diagnosed severe heart defects and a rare medical syndrome which meant his outlook was very poor. Devastated by the news, the family were asked if they wanted to be put in touch with Rainbow - Sue believes it is one of the best things she has never done.

"My son was six months old when the hospital put me in touch. I told them things were getting too much for me. Rainbow came in and looked after the whole family and, when we lost Sam, the help we got from them was brilliant. They have been such a support to us afterwards," says Sue, who has two other children, Joe, who is five and baby Alfie, eight months.

'Sam was so poorly I couldn't leave him, he was violently sick all the time. The Rainbow worker would come with me when I had to leave the house or if my other son needed support. They would take him to school when things were bad, or take me to hospital and just hold my hand."

Sometimes what the doctors were saying was so upsetting, Sue could not take in what she was being told. "You would forget what questions you wanted to ask because you were too upset, but they would be there by your side, prompting you," says Sue.

Before Hazel arrived on the scene, Sue was helped by Rainbow volunteers Joanne and Sue. "They became friends more than anything, but the main thing was knowing that they were just a phone call away and they would be there for you." she adds.

"Rainbow has helped me so much, I will be eternally grateful - and I think Hazel has gone above and beyond the call of duty," Sue adds.

*For care services information about Rainbow or to make a donation ring 0191-386 4400 or visit www.rainbowtrust.org.uk