Parents face grim Christmas as they prepare to say goodbye to dying daughter

Instead of preparing to wrap Christmas gifts and preparing a feast for the family, Indie Fitzgerald's parents are preparing to say goodbye to their little girl.

Last year four-year-old Indie was diagnosed with a brain-wasting disease, an illness that is likely to claim her life before her sixth birthday.

It's a grim reality her parents have to face, in the weeks coming up to the holiday season.

In 2015 Indie Fitzgerald was diagnosed with infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the brain and central nervous system.

Her parents Dean, 27, and Bec, 25, from Queensland, have been spending every precious day they have with her, the Sunshine Coast Daily reports.

The Sunshine Coast family faces the added daily tragedy of balancing work and time with their terminally ill daughter and her younger sister Ivy.

So far this year Indie has been rushed to hospital 15 times, but is grateful she was well enough to be home to celebrate Ivy's second birthday.

While hopeful, the young family remains realistic about the fact their daughter's death is "going to happen eventually".

"We are preparing ourselves. She is deteriorating quickly," Bec told the newspaper.

"She has lost most of her movement."

Dean works shifts, fitting in time at the office between life at home and the hospital.

Faced with possibility of planning for Christmas and their firstborn's funeral, the family are trying to spend as much time together while they can.

They have set-up a Go Fund Me page so others can assist them through their difficult time, which is also being documented on the Indie's Facebook page.

More than $3000 has been donated to the family in recent days, which has not only helped the family over their bills but also given them precious time to together.