Having twins Caleb and Carter in August was supposed to be the beginning of a beautiful new chapter for their family.

The boys were just eight weeks old when their parents noticed something unusual about Caleb. His left eye appeared to be drooping compared with his right, and almost immediately, they knew something was not right.

Doctors discovered that Caleb had a malignant rhabdoid tumour behind his left eye socket, and it was growing rapidly.

“Knowing something is wrong with your newborn baby but not knowing what it is or how to help is physically and emotionally draining,” they said. “It’s something I would never wish on anybody.”

The family suddenly found themselves navigating a world of hospital appointments, difficult decisions and long days away from home — all while trying to care for their tiny son and his twin brother.

Doctors initially hoped that intensive chemotherapy would shrink the tumour enough for surgery to remove what remained.

The treatment was not working as expected, and after weeks of hospital stays, doctors made the difficult decision to remove Caleb’s left eye and the surrounding tissue.

He was just 10 weeks old when he underwent the major operation.

Following surgery, Caleb went through 10 rounds of chemotherapy, with his family travelling to hospital every week and often staying for two or three days at a time.

For his parents, the experience was exhausting both physically and emotionally.

“There were arguments, tears and moments when we wondered how we could keep going,” they admitted. “As a parent, you feel like you have to stay strong for your children, but this was on a completely different level.”

Yet amid the uncertainty, one group became a source of comfort for the family — the Play Team at RHCYP.

The team would visit Caleb, sing songs, play with him and bring different activities to help make his hospital days a little brighter.

And when his parents simply needed a moment to breathe, they were there.

“They went above and beyond,” Caleb’s family said. “There were times we would drive half an hour home to collect more clothes, and we could do that knowing Caleb was being cared for and was in good hands.”

The wider RHCYP team also became a crucial source of support, helping the family create happy memories despite everything they were facing.

“They took a massive weight off our shoulders,” his parents said. “They were always there when we needed someone to talk to or simply a shoulder to lean on.”

Through it all, Caleb continued to show the personality that made his family fall even more deeply in love with him.

Today, his journey is still far from over. There will be continued appointments and challenges ahead, but his parents say they choose to focus on what matters most — they still have their little boy.

“He’s the happiest little guy ever,” they said.

And perhaps the biggest lesson Caleb has given his family is one they never expected to learn so early in his life.

“If we can take one positive from everything we’ve been through, it’s that it brought our family closer together and made us realise how strong we really are.”