Cameron McCallum has spent the past 654 days in John Hunter Children's Hospital, but will soon be going home.
A pizza party was held at the hospital on Wednesday to celebrate the 17-year-old's survival and mark his pending discharge.
Many people helped save his life, including a person in Hungary who will never know their poo was used in a last-chance effort to treat Cameron.
The Kotara teenager had a klebsiella bacterial infection in his abdomen that wasn't responding to antibiotics.
"He had phage treatment in August last year in a trial, but it wasn't a big enough dose to fight the level of infection," mum Ann McCallum said.
A phage is a virus that targets a specific bacteria.
Miraculously, a medical team found the specific phage needed for Cameron in public sewage in Hungary.
"His phage was developed at Westmead and administered like a medication. It saved his life. They worked long and hard in conjunction with the Hungary team," Ann said.
In a speech at Wednesday's party, Ann said "if you are here, it is because Cameron loves you".
Ann said family, friends and the John Hunter community had "all played an important part in Cameron's recovery and our survival as a family".
"We can't ever express how grateful we are."
Cameron went through long-running bouts of sepsis, after chemotherapy treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which he was diagnosed with in July 2022.
He had been due to leave hospital for a new NDIS-funded home on Wednesday, but the move was temporarily delayed.
Ann said Cameron had great "tenacity and resilience".
"He inspires me every day with his kindness and level-headed approach to his recovery," she said.
She said the odds were stacked against her son, but he had a great will to survive.
Numerous doctors, nurses, the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and surgical teams had kept him alive.
Cameron joked that he had "given death the finger nine times", adding that a sense of humour was "a vital part of coping".
He had been treated by teams from radiology, oncology, haematology, ENT [ear, nose and throat], renal, endocrine, palliative care, rehab and speech.
"We jokingly say he's been under the care of every department except gynae and obstetrics," Ann said.
"But to be quite serious, it's not far from the truth."
Ann said that sometimes the "smallest actions meant more than you'll ever know".
"Like bringing fruit cake on Thursdays, or having a light chat while the room was cleaned, or lending me a mattress to sleep on when my back gave out," she said.
There were Christmas treats under a donated tree and birthday hugs.
"Our community has rallied in a way I never anticipated it could," she said.
Cameron is close to little brother Nicholas, 13.
"Both boys have dreams and aspirations. Our main goal is to be together and help them reach these goals," Ann said.
"Cameron wants to be a wildlife educator. Nick wants to be a digital creator."
Cameron aims to learn to walk again and adjust to kidney dialysis, while "remaining hopeful for recovery in whatever form that takes".
"Our goals as a family are simple. We just want to be under the same roof again," Ann said.
"Families are not meant to be apart for so long and under such strain.
"Next year we hope to return to our actual family home. But wherever our family is, that's home."
She thanked husband Mark and son Nicholas for being by her and Cameron's side.
They were Cameron's "biggest cheer squad" and gave the "best hugs imaginable".
"I really can't wait for us all to be under one roof again."
