Neuroblastoma: Jullian was sick with ‘viruses’ for over a year before his mum pushed for answers and a tumour was found

Jullian Adoncello was a happy, healthy toddler when he began suffering from what appeared to be viruses. The recurring symptoms he had included a constant runny nose, tummy troubles, and a general lack of energy.

Mum Rosalie wasn’t concerned at first but soon realised her son was becoming ill every few weeks. 

“It was a year-and-a-half of me questioning why he had all of these viruses, tummy pains, fevers, diarrhea, vomiting,” Rosalie tells 9honey.

READ MORE: Woolies ‘designer’ bags resold online for insane amount

Her concerns about her son’s health were repeatedly dismissed. She then noticed a lump on Jullian’s neck.

“That’s when I said, ‘Right, enough is enough. I needed to get this sorted. There’s more to do,'” she says.

She asked a GP for a referral to a specialist who found a tumour “the size of an orange” in Jullian’s stomach.

READ MORE: Actor’s heartbreaking message after wife’s death

Jullian was admitted into hospital and following a biopsy, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma.

The main tumour was on on his adrenal gland near his kidney and the disease had spread to his neck. He was Stage 4, and Julian and husband Rick were told their son had had just a 10 per cent chance of survival.

What followed was a period of intense treatment for the little boy.

“We didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t real anymore,” Rosalie says.

“We were just in our little bubble. I didn’t want to talk to anybody except the doctors and nurses. I asked a lot of questions and whether it was making sense or not, I just decided to focus fully on figuring out how this could have happened to him and us.”

She never got the answer as to “why” but her curiosity was quickly overtaken by fear as Jullian underwent a series of aggressive treatments to try and save his life.

The treatments included surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

“We pretty much spent the whole year in hospital,” she says.

It was during a bone marrow transplant procedure that Rosalie and Rick felt they might lose their son.

“Because that was total isolation for me and him,” she recalls.

“They don’t tell you how long you’re going to be in hospital for. They say it could be six weeks, eight weeks, 12 weeks … it depends on how he progresses.”

Jullian’s bone marrow was harvested and then transplanted back into him.

He was so weak following the procedure that he had to “learn to eat, learn to go to the toilet, he had to learn to walk again because he was in bed for so long”.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Throughout his treatment, their daughter Alyssa was cared for by relatives. Meanwhile, Rick went from work to the hospital, taking care not to spread any germs to his fragile son.

Jullian miraculously survived and was able to return home for good just before his fifth birthday.

Rosalie decided to hold him back from school for a year.

“I just wanted him to have more time at home with me because we haven’t really had a normal childhood time like toddler age,” she says.

“And then I sent him to preschool first. I wanted him to have the preschool experience and make friends and then go to school.”

READ MORE: The A-Z list of the biggest brands spotted in Amazon’s Big Smile Sale

A lifetime of fortune: Baby names inspired by luck

Jullian is now 20, Alyssa is 25 and the couple welcomed their third child shortly after Jullian completed treatment, daughter Mikayla, who is now 15.

Jullian still suffers from lingering issues as a result of his cancer treatment.

“He’s got hearing aids, he’s got his glasses, his teeth have all been surgically fixed and removed and braces on and off,” she says.

The family has been participating in fundraisers for neuroblastoma ever since. This year they will run in the Run2Cure fundraising event in Sydney. Money raised will go towards better treatments and also to find a cure.

“Neuroblastoma claims more lives of children under the age of five than any other cancer,” the organisation states.

“We need to improve treatments so they are more effective and less toxic and the way to do this is through research.”

Rosalie is sharing her story in support of Run2Cure Neuroblastoma taking part on Sunday 6th April in Sydney. Register to be part of the Half Marathon, 10km, 5km, 3km or 1km little heroes walk or donate at run2cure.org.au

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.