'EVERYTHING STOOD STILL'

A SHOCK DIAGNOSIS CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR THIS FAMILY OF FIVE

- Sara Tapia

It’s the news no parent ever wants to hear. Four words: “your son has cancer” - and a childhood is changed forever. That’s the heartbreaking situation Nathan and Naomi Jepson found themselves in, when their son, Oliver, was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma – a rare and highly aggressive form of cancer – in 2022.

Ollie was just 6 years old when he began complaining about hearing problems, dizziness, headaches and blurry vision. But it wasn’t until his right eye dramatically turned that Nathan and Naomi knew something was seriously wrong and took him straight to the hospital.

“They sent us away the first time, saying that his symptoms weren't life-threatening, and the hospital was under the pump because of the [Northern NSW] floods,” Nathan reveals. “But it was Naomi’s mum’s intuition, where she was like, 'No, there's definitely something wrong, so let's try to push.”