"Being told that your child may die, it's just the worst thing in the world," Peter said, "our whole life just fell apart in front of us."

Eli, now a happy 2-year-old, was born not breathing. He was transferred from Wollongong Private Hospital to the Royal Women's Hospital in Sydney where he underwent multiple surgeries to try and open his airways.

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On top of being diagnosed with laryngomalacia, tracheomalacia and vocal cord palsy that caused Eli's walls of his windpipes to collapse, surgeons stumbled upon something else that was only the beginning of a health battle he is still recovering from.

"At five-weeks-old, he was having a tracheostomy put in to help him breathe," Peter said.

"That's when doctors found a mass on the left side of his neck ... it was a neuroblastoma which is an aggressive form of childhood cancer.

"But because we found it coincidentally so early, it gave us a more of a fighting chance to help find a cure before it spread."

As parents, Peter said Eli's cancer diagnosis was almost impossible to comprehend, especially after their daughter Ava, who was two-years-old at the time, had just recovered from a rare genetic disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

"We had just endured a huge fight to keep her (Ava) alive," Peter said.

"When she was better we were really excited to bring a brand new baby home. Unfortunately my daughter's illness was nothing compared to what we were about to face with Eli."

But what was equally as tough for Peter and Jenny about Eli's diagnosis and what came after, was how they were going to explain it to their three children, including Ava, and sons Liam, who was five and Luke who was seven at the time.

"They were young, but old enough to know that something was wrong and to know their lives had been uprooted," Peter said.

"We just thought maybe the fair thing would have been to just say nothing. But they had to know why they couldn't see their friends, and why Eli lost his hair."

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Peter and Jenny recruited a Redkite social worker, who helped Eli's brothers and sister make sense of his cancer through a children's book, which explained through pictures what chemotherapy is, and why some lose their hair.

"The story book was amazing, it was a really nice way to tell them," Peter said.

"We were worried they would struggle. But the way this story was read to them, we honestly couldn't have done it by ourselves."

Peter and Jenny shared their story ahead of Coles Express mid-year fundraiser for RedKite, which helps families facing childhood cancer. The charity threw the family a lifeline through Eli's health battle.

"Covering medical costs got very expensive, and the bills kept coming," Peter said.

"Redkite also offer support groups for parents going through what we're going through. And I found the people that understand your situation the best is people that have walked in your footsteps before."

Peter urged other parents who may be going through something similar to lean on any support available to them.

While Eli still struggles to breath at night, and is still recovering from side effects of chemotherapy, Peter said his son is a "cool little trooper" who never lets anything stop him.

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