Port Augusta family blindsided by two-year-old son Tasman’s heartbreaking diagnosis

This two-year-old Port Augusta boy went from running around one minute to crawling the next. His unexpected diagnosis has turned his family’s life upside down.

Tasman Gill is an active two-year-old boy — he likes to run, climb and jump around outside.

So when he started limping out of nowhere at the beginning of May this year and even returned to crawling, his mum Tarsha Gill took him straight to the doctor.

The GP sent the young family for X-rays, ultrasounds and blood tests.

After the results, the doctors wanted more blood tests.

The Port Augusta family were asked to be at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital on May 22 and later that afternoon were told Tasman had B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

“This diagnosis came exactly one month before his third birthday,” Ms Gill, 35, said.

“It’s hard to explain how you feel in a moment like this when you have two small children who have absolutely no idea what’s going on or what this means.

“This is truly heartbreaking and honestly it feels so unfair.”

Tasman Gill, 2, who has been diagnosed with leukaemia, with his parents mum Tarsha and dad Fraser Gill and sister Hazel. Picture: Supplied

Tasman has been diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Picture: Supplied

In a single afternoon, the Gill family’s life was uprooted and they were forced to move to Adelaide, needing to find accommodation for her husband Fraser, 34, and four-year-old daughter Hazel.

They stayed at the Cancer Council Lodge for a week together, before Fraser and Hazel were forced to return to Port Augusta so Fraser could return to work as a retained firefighter and to their home and yard maintenance business and Hazel to kindergarten.

Mr Gill and Hazel return to Adelaide on weekends.

Tasman with his sister Hazel Gill. Picture: Supplied

“Being predominantly from country areas the move has been quite stressful … as I’m not very familiar or very comfortable navigating Adelaide,” Ms Gill said.

Tasman often asks to “go back to his orange house”.

“Our house is brick and this is his way of describing it which is sweet and heartbreaking at the same time,” Ms Gill said.

Tasman has undergone a variety of procedure and begun chemotherapy. Picture: Supplied

Fraser Gill and Hazel have needed to return to Port Augusta and visit Adelaide on weekends. Picture: Supplied

Tasman was an extremely active child prior to his diagnosis. Picture: Supplied

At this stage he is undergoing treatment for at least 12 months. Picture: Supplied

Since, his diagnosis Tasman has been staying the hospital while he’s undergone further tests and had his first couple of bouts of chemotherapy.

“We were told that he needed chemotherapy for at least 12 months and we would need to be in Adelaide and as close to the hospital as possible,” Ms Gill said.

Tasman underwent a lumbar puncture, a bone marrow biopsy and a procedure to create a port for his chemotherapy.

“It didn’t take him long to work out what buttons to push on the hospital bed to make it go up and down,” Ms Gill said.

Ms Gill said her son was always running around, climbing up ladders, throwing or kicking balls or riding bikes prior to his diagnosis.

“Watching this treatment process take some of that away will be incredibly hard,” she said.

If you’d like to donate to the Gill family, you can here.

Originally published as Port Augusta family blindsided by two-year-old son Tasman’s heartbreaking diagnosis