Oskar’s diagnosis

Ella and Dale live in regional Victoria with their two sons, four-year-old Oskar and two-year-old Arlo.  

As a family, they love being outdoors — riding bikes, kicking a soccer ball, and spending time together in nature. 

Life was pretty normal for the family before Oskar was diagnosed with embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, Stage 3, just one week before his third birthday in August 2023.  

It started when Ella and Dale noticed Oskar was having trouble going to the toilet. He was straining to urinate, crying out in pain, and needing to go every half hour — sometimes more. 

“We had a couple of days thinking he had gastro,” Dale said. 

As Oskar was already potty trained, this regression was quite concerning. Ella and Dale took Oskar to the nearest hospital, almost an hour’s drive away from home.  

“I didn’t feel heard until Oskar did a wee in front of the ED doctor and was literally screaming in pain. That’s when the doctor said ‘Oh, okay, something is going on here. This is not normal behaviour’,” Ella said. 

Doctors ordered an ultrasound — but scheduled it for the following week. Because it was the weekend in a small regional hospital, the radiographer wasn’t called in urgently. 

On Monday, Ella rang the hospital again, on the verge of tears. 

“I said, ‘Look, my child is screaming every time he wees or poos. I really need him to be seen.’” 

The hospital brought them in the next morning for an ultrasound. By that afternoon, their world changed. 

Doctors found a malignant tumour pressing on Oskar’s bladder. 

“The tumour had pushed his bladder up to the height of his kidneys, so they couldn’t drain properly,” Ella explained.  

“He was at risk of kidney failure or permanent kidney damage.” 

From there, things moved quickly. Oskar and Ella were transported to Monash Hospital in Melbourne — two hours from home — while Dale returned home with Arlo, packed bags, and drove down with his mum, Pam, to meet them. 

At just nine months old, Arlo was still breastfeeding. Overnight, Pam became his primary carer while Ella and Dale stayed by Oskar’s side. 

Treatment and living away from home

The next day, Oskar was put on a morphine drip, given a catheter, underwent an MRI and biopsy, and had a port inserted. By Thursday, chemotherapy had started. 

“The cancer was so aggressive they couldn’t wait for the biopsy results,” Dale said.  

“They made an educated guess and said, ‘If we don’t act now, he’s going to die.’” 

Oskar remained in hospital for the next seven weeks. 

A PET scan later revealed the cancer had already spread to his pubic bone and pelvic wall. 

“All of a sudden, we weren’t dealing with stage one cancer anymore. It was stage three, high-risk and inoperable,” Ella said. 

Over the next nine months, Oskar endured nine rounds of chemotherapy. For a year, the family moved between Melbourne and home, balancing intensive treatment with life as best they could. Pam stayed with them throughout.  

When Oskar finally returned home, he had to relearn how to walk after months in bed. In a bittersweet twist, he and Arlo learned to crawl and walk together. 

“Arlo was always in Oskar’s face, which wasn’t always easy for Oskar. But it gave him a reason to move and to go to places,” Ella said.  

How Redkite supported Oskar’s family

Redkite first connected with the family when they received a Red Bag in hospital — a small but meaningful moment of comfort and connection. 

“I love the Redkite bag,” Ella said.  “You see other mums with it in the hospital — it binds you together.”  

Even today, she still uses the bag for hospital trips: “It’s big enough to throw everything in.” 

With Ella on maternity leave and unable to return to work, and Dale using long service and sick leave, finances became a strain — especially while living away from home. 

Redkite’s financial assistance, including grocery and fuel vouchers, helped ease that pressure. 

“We got a lot of Coles vouchers. And that’s super handy because it also means if someone does the shopping for you, you can just give them the voucher and they can go do it,” Ella said.  

“Every bill that was paid, every time we had no money, a voucher appeared. It’s hard to describe how much stress that alleviates,” Dale said.  

Ella also found emotional support through Redkite’s Compass parenting program. 

“I found it really helpful — learning one tool at a time and really taking it in.” 

Life now

Oskar is still on treatment but has started Kindergarten, loves being outside and plays soccer on the weekends.  

“He’s very outgoing, loves to learn, great with language, and an excellent little athlete,” Dale said. 

Arlo is at daycare and is a little social butterfly.   “He’s loud, very opinionated, and will talk to anyone — a little firecracker,” Dale laughed. 

The brothers share a beautiful bond.  “They just make each other cackle so much and there’s no one else who can do that.” 

Ella and Dale want other families to know they aren’t alone, even if it feels that way at times. 

“It feels like no one understands the pain and fear you are going through, but there are people out there who see you, who understand what you’re going through,” Ella said. 

Helping families get ready for the school year

Iconic Australian shoe brand, Harrison’s, is supporting families like Ella and Oskar this summer, with $1 from the sale of every pair of Harrison Daytona school shoes sold at Harrison online, Shoes & Sox online and Shoes & Sox stores donated to Redkite.

From 2 December 2025 to 8 February 2026 will be donated to Redkite to support more families who are facing childhood cancer.