WHEN Somerville mum Ebony Brouwer noticed bruises appearing all over the body of her two-year-old son Theodore, she initially brushed them off as a typical mark of a “wild, energetic” toddler. “He was jumping off coffee tables, doing backflips on the couch, riding his balance bike down huge hills. But then everything changed,” she said. Theo had been unwell for a month, prompting visits to the GP. Each time, Ebony was told it was likely just a virus and to give it time.
But one morning, something shifted. While visiting his cousins who were running around, Theo remained still, curling up on his mum’s lap and drifting to sleep. She knew something wasn’t right. She pushed for blood tests – and that’s when the devastating truth came to light: Theo was diagnosed with leukemia. “I was a mess… I wished it away more times than I can count,” she said.
Theo immediately began chemotherapy which came at a time when Ebony began to juggle a newborn baby, Finley. “I would sleep in Theo’s bed with him while Kyle (her partner) would wake me every three hours to breastfeed Finley. I was a zombie. Our older daughter Addison, who was only four, had to spend a lot of time with grandparents,” she said.
Fortunately, Theodore responded well to chemotherapy. He had no major reactions and was able to receive much of his treatment as an outpatient. But Ebony recalled the first round of chemo as “absolutely brutal” saying Theo had become an empty shell of himself with no smiles, no laughs, no anger, nothing. “His face was just blank for 28 days,” she said.
“The hardest part of it all was watching Theo’s little body fight. He lost the ability to walk, his hair fell out twice, he struggled to eat unless he was on steroids where he would eat so much, he would vomit.
“If Theo had a fever over 38 degrees we would need to take him straight to emergency for antibiotics and it would always mean a hospital admission. More time apart as a family; our least favourite thing.”
But over time, Theo found some “normality” in spending most of his time in the cancer centre and would “wake each morning with so much joy on his face”. His treatment finished in July last year with check-ups initially following every four weeks.
Theo is now in prep and doing incredibly well with his learning, has made new friends and joined his first basketball team with Dad proudly coaching. “Most days, Theo comes home tired, often needing quiet afternoons to rest and recharge his little body. He often has days off school to recoup or for hospital related appointments, but overall, he’s embracing this new chapter with so much strength and joy after a hard few years in his little life,” Ebony said.
This month Theo and his family are sharing their story in support of the Children’s Cancer Institute’s CEO Dare to Cure campaign which encourages Aussie CEOs to face their fears to help raise $1.7m to help put an end to childhood cancer.
Looking back at their journey, Ebony said she and Kyle couldn’t help but think it was all a bad dream, saying “I don’t think we will ever find comfort in what we went through with our son”. In terms of what message they would like to share with other parents who may be going through a similar experience, she said “my advice would be to lean on your support system”. “Our parents were absolutely incredible, picking up the slack everywhere. And remember that even though it feels impossible, you will get through it. You have no choice but to keep going, and somehow you do,” she said.
“What gives me hope is seeing the advances in research. Since Theo was diagnosed, incredible progress has been made. Programs like Children’s Cancer Institute’s ZERO Childhood Cancer program now mean all children with cancer in Australia are eligible for cutting-edge research and treatment options that weren’t available just a few years ago.”
First published in the Mornington News – 21 October 2025
