The poster for Saturday's fundraiser for Julius Webb.
Julius’ cancer was first detected in May when he went to a GP. Julius’ dad Marcus Webb took his son to the Kawakawa Emergency Department, and he was immediately flown to Starship. Doctors found a huge mass which covered three-quarters of his chest, and he was admitted to ICU. It was touch and go for Julius but his youth and determination pulled him through. He was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukaemia of the body, spinal fluid and bone marrow.
A day later would have been catastrophic, doctors said.
Julius’ mum Monique Satele told the Herald there had been a few minor setbacks with her son’s treatment since his story appeared in the Herald in August.
“Julius is still going strong but has had a few setbacks with hospital admission for further treatment and several platelet and blood transfusions,” Satele said.
“His feeding tube has been taken out as a trial because currently Julius has some underlying stomach issues and they are wanting to get that sorted.
“His appetite [is] still pretty non-existent. He is struggling to keep his daily medications down, which can be up to 11 pills twice a day, but overall he is still in good spirits and keeping strong.”
Today, the whānau travelled to Kawakawa for a full blood and neutrophil count as Julius starts interim maintenance.
“If all counts are at a high enough level, he will travel tomorrow to Auckland with a huge treatment and theatre day on Thursday and be monitored for a minimum of 48 hours,” Satele said.
“This plan is in place for the next four fortnights and is all dependent on his nutrition counts.”
Joseph Los’e joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME, worked for 12 years for Te Whānau o Waipareira.
