Boy with rare one-in-a-million disease surprised with heartwarming birthday party
At just five years old, Elliot Vanderland has had a tougher life than most.
The little boy from Leongatha, Victoria, is in the fight of his life against a rare bone marrow disease that affects one in a million.
So to celebrate his fifth birthday, Elliot was allowed outside for only the second time in months to be greeted by a special visitor.
A huge tyrannosaurus rex named Toby was waiting to surprise the birthday boy - who is passionate about dinosaurs.
"Obviously he didn't know what was happening, all of a sudden there was a dinosaur walking through the park," Lisa Forde from Real Dinosaurs told 7 News.
"It was priceless."
Elliot, who was just three when he was diagnosed with dyskeratosis congenita and aplastic anaemia, will need to now go back into isolation for another forty days as he waits to see if his latest operation will save his life.
If that's not hard enough for his family, they were recently dealt another devastating blow.
Their older son, Ashton, has been diagnosed with the same disease.
"Hard watching one child go through this let alone a second," the boys' mother, Elissa, said.
"Having to explain this to Ashton that, 'You've got this as well'."
Elliot's birthday party was a welcome reprieve for the family, who have been doing it tough to care for their son.
Elliot's parents haven't been able to work, and are struggling financially
"It's been a battle but we're getting there," Mr Vanderland said.
"We've learnt alot and we've learnt what's really important in life," Mrs Vanderland added.
It's now one step at a time, with the family looking forward to being able to get Elliot home to Leongatha.
