When teenage Brodie Kovalik complained of headaches, his mother Kelly, initially gave him painkillers.
But when they became more frequent and the 14-year-old schoolboy became nauseous, fatigued and withdrawn, she started to worry.
A blood test showed he was dehydrated but when he collapsed at school his father, Kelly's ex-husband, rushed him to hospital.
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After an eight-hour wait at Sydney's Campbelltown Hospital the family were given a shock diagnosis - Brodie had a brain tumour.
Kovalik, 37, was called by her ex-husband with the devastating news.
"I just collapsed on the floor," she said.
Just hours later Brodie was taken into surgery at Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick
He had medulloblastoma, a tumour at the base of his brain.
It is most commonly found in children and grows in the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination.
Mammoth lifesaving-surgery
Surgeons managed to remove some of the tumour, which was the size of an orange, in a mammoth 11-hour surgery to save Brodie's life.
But sadly because of where the tumour was, Brodie was left unable to talk or walk.
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"He could only respond with his index finger," Kovalik said.
"It affected all verbal and motor skills, but without the surgery it (the tumour) would have just consumed him."
While he is now able to say a few words and take a few steps, Brodie still uses a wheelchair.
It's a far cry from when he was a normal teen who loved playing Fortnite and chat to his girlfriend on his phone.
"It's almost like there's a six-year-old trapped in a 14-year-old's body," Kovalik said.
Hospital far from home
Kovalik and her family had another problem when he was admitted to hospital.
Just weeks before she had moved with Brodie and his brothers Cooper, 16, Tyler 21, from Sydney's Inner West to Tallong, near Goulbourn, almost two hours away.
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It means it's impossible for her to go home at night.
Charity Ronald McDonald House stepped in.
It offers free accommodation to families close to hospitals.
Kovalik has been staying at the Randwick location for five months and will even celebrate Christmas there.
While Brodie should be well enough to leave hospital and visit his father on Christmas morning, he'll be with his mother at the House in the evening.
Mrs Kovalik called it a "home from home".
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"It feels like I'm spending Christmas with the family," she said.
"We wouldn't have had the strength and mentality to carry on without them. I would be lost."
Set up over 40 years ago there are 18 Ronald McDonald Houses in Australia.
Actress Eva Mendes recently visited Australia to promote the charity.
The outlook for Brodie, who has more chemotherapy on December 30 is uncertain, but the family is staying positive.
"He's going to need assisted care for the rest of his life and we don't know how long that life is," Kovalik said.
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What is Medulloblastoma
Medulloblastoma is the most common brain tumour in children.
It grows in at the back of the brain that controls movement and coordination.
Symptoms include vomiting, headaches and clumsiness.
Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
About 100 children aged up to 14 are diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord tumour annually, Cancer Council NSW, says.
Find out more about the Ronald McDonald House Christmas fundraising campaign here.
Do you have a story? Contact journalist Sarah Swain on sswain@nine.com.au
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