A little boy has finally made it home to North Queensland for Christmas after a hellish year undergoing cancer treatment more than 1,300 kilometres away.
Christmas was the last thing on the Tauroa-Rauhihi family's mind 12 months ago when their six-year-old son Haven was diagnosed with b-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
The family uprooted their lives in Townsville to spend last Christmas and much of the past year far from home.
Haven underwent extensive treatment in Brisbane while his mum Holly was heavily pregnant with her third child.
But after what felt like endless rounds of chemotherapy and steroid treatment, the family was given the green light to return home to Townsville in time for Christmas and Haven's sixth birthday.
"We really had our fingers and toes crossed that we'd be in our own house in our own beds for Christmas with our family and friends," Ms Tauroa-Rauhihi said.
"The oncologist kept saying, 'hopefully you'll be home by Christmas', but we didn't put a date on it or anything or get our hopes up too much in case something didn't go as planned."
Haven was just happy to be home and knew exactly what to ask Santa Claus for Christmas.
"A tree house and a Hot Wheels garage," he said.
Best gift for brave family
Haven began experiencing symptoms in November 2021 and had his devastating diagnosis by the end of that year.
"All the symptoms he had were fevers and he looked a bit yellow and pale and fatigued, so it caught us quite off guard," Ms Tauroa-Rauhihi said.
The past 12 months have been a haze of white hospital rooms and tubes and machines as the family split its time between the Queensland Children's Hospital for treatment and the Leukaemia Foundation Village where they secured emergency accommodation.
"His treatment can't be done in Townsville, so we had to stay in Brisbane," she said.
"We were kind of just taking it day by day, we didn't know what each day was going to bring."
One Australian is diagnosed with a type of blood cancer every 27 minutes, and nearly 6,000 people — or a third of sufferers — die each year.
Haven was diagnosed with one of the most common types of leukaemia for young children.
The Leukaemia Foundation said while Haven's recovery was promising, the amount of blood cancer diagnoses was growing in Australia, with the number expected to double by 2035.
Blown away by support
Ms Tauroa-Rauhihi said affording accommodation in Brisbane while Haven underwent treatment added stress to their ordeal.
But she was blown away by the support offered during their time of need.
"You don't really know what's available and what's out there until you're in that position," she said.
The family received support from several organisations, including a fully-subsidised, self-contained unit at the Leukaemia Foundation, located close to the hospital.
"We had lots of midnight ED [emergency department] dashes for Haven so it was very convenient, we're really grateful," she said.
The facility also provides access to social workers and a network for families to connect with others going through similar experiences.
"We've met lifelong friends through the Leukaemia Foundation with kids that are going through it," Ms Tauroa-Rauhihi said.
Haven and his family are now making up for lost time.
"He's happy about going into grade one next year with a full head of hair hopefully and he's doing all the things that a kid that age should be now," Ms Tauroa-Rauhihi said.
"You wouldn't even know that he went through treatment, or he has leukaemia really."
