Erin McNaught has shared an update on her son Obi’s recovery after he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour.
The tumour was discovered after McNaught and her partner – music producer Stace Kadet, whose real name is Stasi Kotaras, – noticed a “rapid decline in Obi’s behaviour and happiness”.
McNaught, 43, shared her son’s initial diagnosis on June 12 and discharge from the hospital following surgery on June 27.
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She has now shared further details on Obi’s recovery, saying he has “blown us away with his recovery”.
McNaught began her most recent post by describing the morning they took their son in for surgery to remove the “massive brain tumour that he was only diagnosed with a few days prior”.
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“Stas and I woke early, and while he went to the hospital, I stayed for a little while longer, trying to deal with what was about to happen,” she shared on Instagram.
“I stood on the balcony and watched the sunrise and sobbed so hard I couldn’t breathe. The thought that this sunrise might be the last one we saw with him still here on this earth was unbearable.”
She said when Obi made it through the surgery “we returned to the balcony and watched the sunset and we cried again together”.
“Since then, Obi has blown us away with his recovery. Day by day, achieving more and more.”
The model and actress said whilst they “still don’t know what his future holds, but then again no one ever does”, for now they are “filled with joy, and happiness, and a deep sense of gratitude”.
“We hold him close, and we hold our big boys, and we marvel at our little family, and how lucky we are. And we love each other the hardest.”
“Since then, Obi has blown us away with his recovery. Day by day, achieving more and more.”
Alongside her heartfelt words, McNaught shared a video compilation showing Obi’s hospital stay and recovery.
In one clip, model McNaught is holding her son while standing next to a hospital bed, rocking him back and forth as he sleeps on her shoulder.
In the next clip, Kotaras is carrying Obi down a hospital corridor, a bandage on the top right of the baby’s head, connected to a tube which is connected to a portable trolley being pushed alongside them.
Next, a heartbreaking image of the little boy shortly after the tumour removal. He is lying in a hospital bed, his entire head bandaged up, with a nasal tube, ventilation, and a heart monitor attached.
Her update on her son comes just a month after she first shared her son’s diagnosis.
She explained at the time, in addition to the decline in behaviour and happiness, Obi was also “having problems eating, sleeping, and most recently, keeping his head straight”.
They took their son for an MRI as a precaution under instruction from their doctor, and later that day were given the “heartbreaking news that Obi has a large brain tumour on the right side of his brain”.
“We are absolutely shattered and the last few days have been our hardest days,” she said.
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“Our team at the Queensland Children’s Hospital have been incredible and we remain hopeful that we can remove the mass and get Obi healthy and happy, pending the results. We have a long and difficult road ahead us but are so lucky to have our family and friends’ support at this time and we’re keeping focused on getting our little boy back.”
This was followed by a post two weeks later showing Obi in a pram being taken home post-surgery.
“It’s been a little over two weeks and we have finally brought our Obi home,” McNaught said.
“After a terrifying six-hour wait while the surgeons removed the tumour, countless subsequent tests and many scary moments and sleepless nights, Obi is now recovering extremely well and doctors are confident that they managed to remove the tumour completely.
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“We don’t have any definitive results just yet so we are not quite out of the woods, but preliminary tests are giving us cautious optimism.
“For now we are just focusing on his recovery. To watch him laugh, play, and observe the world again as a happy baby has brought us so much joy and although there is a long road ahead we are incredibly grateful he is no longer in pain.
“We cannot overstate how grateful we are to the doctors, nurses, and staff at the @queenslandchildrenshospital for all the hours spent watching over and caring for our little boy (and us!) and for the support and love we have received from friends, family, and strangers around the world.
“We are only now beginning to process all that has happened; the perspective something like this gives you is unlike anything else; but right now we are just so happy to have our little family back together.”
Obi is the youngest child of McNaught, who also shares two older children, Evander, seven, and Ennio, five, with her ex-husband, musician Example.
McNaught and Kotaras welcomed their son Obi Brooks Kotaras in October 2024.
McNaught first found fame as a model, representing Australia in the Miss Universe competition in 2006. This was followed by a successful stint on Neighbours before she moved to the MTV Hits Weekly Hot30 Countdown show.
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