Johey Basedow and his family will board a plane bound for north America on Monday in a life saving mission to rid the teenager of a sinister form of cancer.
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Last month The Mercury told Johey's story and how his parents have found hope in a specialist doctor in the United States.
Johey is making the trek to North Carolina - one of the only locations in the world to tackle Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumours (DSRCT).
These are aggressive tumors that typically begin in the abdomen or pelvis and usually occur in white adolescent males.
His surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19. He will be admitted to hospital the day before for hydration, blood crossmatch and other prep for surgery.
"We've been told that Johey's surgery is expected to take about 12 hours," his mum Emma said.
Emma's research revealed that a number of people had been treated for DSRCT in the US and a few hospitals there specialised in treatment.
She found Professor Andrea Hayes-Jordan who devotes her research to DSRCT.
Emma said that following a previous report in The Mercury, the family received an overwhelming amount of donations on Johey's Go Fund Me Page which reached $47,000. The money has helped lock in Johey's treatment in the United States.
"We saw a steady increase in donations, which boosted funds by several thousand dollars," Emma said. "It all helps to ease the financial burden of the treatment and we can't thank those that have supported us enough."
Last week Johey had his final check up with his local specialist before his flight Monday. "His blood counts are good and he's in great shape to travel and ready for surgery," Emma said.
"I had training in how to prepare and administer emergency antibiotics in case Johey spikes a fever on the journey, but hopefully we won't need to use them.
"Our travel agent, Sarah Fenton from MTA Travel, used her industry contacts to arrange a day trip to NASA before Johey has surgery. "This is a 'wish' of Johey's as an aspiring aerospace engineer. Sarah also did not charge for her services and generously donated her commission back to us," Emma said.
"Last night I heard from the mum of a boy who lives in South Australia who also has DSRCT. He had surgery with Professor Hayes-Jordan about four years ago and is doing well.
"His Mum said it was expensive and recovery was tough, but worth it when she sees how happy he is today.
"This gives us so much hope for Johey.
"The other little boy had a relapse last year and went to Perth for radiotherapy and recovered well," she said.
