Our Beautiful Boy Ollie - the fight of his life

This is our story

Our names are Rach and Adam

We are the proud parents of our four incredible, beautiful children. Darcy, Oliver, Archie and Willow.

Over the last 10 months our 13-year-old boy, Ollie, started telling us his brain felt different, like there was something in there. He started experiencing some anxiety, physical pain and stress. After multiple trips to many different GPs and Ollie constantly explaining how his body was feeling, we were told time and time again it was simply “anxiety”. The chest pain, the waves of pain, the tingling and headaches, the thoughts he was having, his poor memory and behavioural changes. With each visit came the same explanation “Oliver is experiencing anxiety”.

As his mum I believed the doctors. With different GP’s came similar advice, all of which we took on board; Less screen time, less sugar, more time outside… But the anxiety didn’t go. Back to the GP seeking further help and advice. This time it was suggested we get Ollie some counselling in addition to the continued reduced screen time, less gaming, more outside. The result was no different, the anxiety did not go, and it did not lessen either. Quite the opposite in fact, Ollie began telling us he felt as though he had a tumour and that it was cancer. Despite our efforts to calm him and reassure him that it wasn’t caner, that it was indeed anxiety and we would keep chipping away at it with the help of the doctors, Ollie was adamant of something else going on in his brain.

We genuinely did not believe it could be cancer or didn’t want to think it could be anything more sinister rather.

One evening Ollie appeared to have an actual “anxiety attack” and he lost control of his legs, arms and body, we called the paramedics straight away. At this stage I thought to myself is this actually anxiety? The paramedics arrived and again classified it as Anxiety, they reinforced what the doctor had recommended and told us to keep him from screens and gaming specifically.

We followed their instruction and trusted their judgment. Oliver was still not ok with this, and he was very vocal in his thoughts around what was going on in his brain. There was something in there that shouldn’t be, and it was hurting him.

Two nights later Ollie experienced another “anxiety attack” however this time it was different. His little body contorted, he stopped breathing, he was unresponsive, we thought we had lost him… The Ambulance was called again and this time we were assessed differently, it felt like we were taken seriously. Ollie was finally being listened to, and his bodies actions and movements were being diagnosed with more care and attention.

And so, it began. We were taken to our local Bairnsdale Regional Hospital, quickly transferred the next day to Latrobe Regional Hospital and then again on to Monash Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. 300kms away from home and our 3 other children.

Further testing was done and the unimaginable was confirmed.

Our Ollie has been diagnosed with a High Grade Malignant Diffuse Inoperable Glioma Tumour… the prognosis is extremely poor for his survival and limited options to treat that will only to slow it’s growth. This type of cancer is aggressive and likes to keep growing back.

All along Oliver knew something was wrong with his brain and we will never fully come to terms with the path that has led us to now. This type of cancer is found mostly in older adults, so Oliver is a bit of an anomaly in this respect but not withstanding we are not going to lose him without exhausting every option feasible to us!

We believe that our best CHANCE and HOPE for Ollie is for Surgery and Treatment which gives Ollie more time and hope. We can’t do this alone and this means asking and reaching far and wide for help. We want to do everything we possibly can to keep him with us but we need your help.

Please, no matter the amount, the support, the sharing, it means the world and more to us to believe in our Boy and fight with him, for him