It’s not the first or last time he’ll make his mother cry. But the happy tears for Charlie, 2, followed an intense 10 months of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to fight Wilms tumour, a rare kidney cancer.

Charlie’s mother, Paige, said a call from her son’s daycare, mentioning a hard lump on his tummy, set off a nightmare ride. It was May 2024.

A visit to the doctor, then hospital for an X-ray and ultrasound found a mass on one of Charlie’s kidneys.

He was sent to the Royal Children’s Hospital which confirmed Charlie had Wilms tumour.

“Your world just stops,” Paige said. “When you’re an outsider, and you see a kid with cancer, your heart breaks, and you think, ‘I couldn’t even imagine being in that position.’ But when it happens to you, it’s like, this is your life, and you need to get on with it.”

“It changes your perspective on everything. It’s devastating watching your child go through something so harsh and hard. No kid should experience that. But I’m so proud of how well he’s handled it.”

Paige said Charlie’s initial treatment included four weeks of chemotherapy before surgeons removed a kidney and the tumour.

“They told us the cancer was stage three, so we started a different program and treatment plan, which ended up being the highest dose of chemo he could have,” Paige said.

She said Charlie also underwent radiation therapy, and two surgeries to check a mark on his chest, which turned out to be a lymph node.

Paige said Charlie was “too young and unaware of what was going on” when he first started treatment. But as he got older, fear and trauma began creeping in.

“He’s been a real champion, but he knows when the car is driving to him to get treatment. He’ll say, ‘No hospital, mummy. I want to stay home.’ It’s hard when he begs you not to go in. But I always tell him, ‘We want to make you better.’”

Last week, Charlie entered a new chapter in his journey. He rang the bell at the RCH, signifying he had completed a round of cancer treatment.

“When you first get that diagnosis, it feels like the end will never come. It feels so far away,” Paige said. When you actually get to the end, you feel so grateful. You get to a point where you can say, He’s OK. We made it.”

Family, friends, nurses and doctors lined the ward for Charlie’s charge towards the symbolic chime. He rang it with purpose as Paige cheered for her son, and smiled through the tears. They had made it.

Paige acknowledged the angels at the RCH.

“They make every day in so much easier for us. You come here, and it feels joyful, even though you’re going through the worst situation you could imagine. Every child here feels loved and seen,” she said.

She is thrilled that Charlie can start his life again. “Charlie has a big personality and he’s a bundle of joy. He’s the definition of sunshine,”

Paige said. “He’s my whole world.”