Nat Barr breaks down in tears on live TV after heartbreaking encounter

Sunrise host Nat Barr broke down in tears during a live broadcast after seeing a powerful image of a young boy battling cancer on the front page of The West Australian newspaper. 

The boy, 12-year-old Noah Johnson, appeared on the front page of the Saturday edition. 

The image was accompanied by a heart-wrenching quote from Noah: ‘I don’t want you to get sad, Mummy, but sometimes I think it would be easier if I died.’ 

Noah was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma – a type of bone cancer where tumors form from a certain type of cell found in bones or soft tissue. 

For the last seven months, Noah has endured 14 rounds of chemotherapy and 31 rounds of radiation. 

Barr, participating in Channel Seven’s Telethon Weekend, was moved to tears after seeing Noah’s photo and reading his words. 

‘We had a briefing (this morning), so they get all the people who have come in from the Eastern States and they put us in this room just to remind us what on earth this thing is, this monolith that is Telethon,’ Barr said.

‘I met this little boy in a wheelchair and he said his name was Noah and we had a little chat and I chatted to his parents. 

‘And then I walked in and I saw this,’ Barr said as she choked back tears while holding up the newspaper. 

Noah Johnson, 12, (pictured) was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma seven months ago and has since had 14 rounds of chemotherapy and 31 rounds of radiation

Barr started to cry as she described Noah’s life-altering diagnosis and urged viewers to read his story. 

‘Eight months ago, he was normal kid, then he was diagnosed with cancer. His family, their lives, were turned upside down,’ an emotional Barr said. 

‘So, it’s about him and it’s about every single kid whose life can be changed.’ 

Barr added the weekend was a ‘rollercoaster’ of emotions and urged viewers to donate to the Telethon to help children and their families, like Noah, who were struggling. 

The 57th Telethon Weekend, which had the theme ‘Incredible Together’, focused on improving Western Australia’s children’s health and wellbeing. 

The 26-hour broadcast, raised a record $83,264,216 for the state’s vulnerable and sick children. 

The community-led charity fundraiser event has raised a whopping more than $688 million since it first Telethon Weekend in 1968.

Telethon Chair Richard Goyder AO said the success of the fundraiser event was due to the generosity of people in Western Australia. 

‘The magic of Telethon is that everybody across our state does what they can over the weekend as they know it is for the greater good and that greater good is helping kids, something that brings everybody together,’ Mr Goyder said. 

‘Whether through generosity and donations, community performances, attendance at the family festival, or simply tuning in to the Channel 7 broadcast, every individual contributed to something greater than themselves over this year’s Telethon Weekend.’