But the road to recovery is set to be a long one for the three-year-old, who was critically injured when he was sucked into a backyard pool filter at Wellington in January.

Julian was rushed to Wellington District Hospital before being airlifted to Westmead Children’s Hospital, where he is expected to remain for another six months.

Julian’s parents, Wayne and Sonia Smith and their 20-month-old son Luca relocated to Sydney to be with the toddler.

Julian’s aunty, Dubbo woman Kym Coon, said the family’s life has been turned upside down by the incident.

“He’s had five operations, he’s on a feeding tube and on a constant flow of morphine,” Mrs Coon said.

“He’ll have at least another couple of operations - it’s a lot to go through.

“They’re just taking it day to day.”

The family was just a week away from moving to Canberra for a job opportunity when the incident happened.

Mrs Coon wants to raise awareness of the potential dangers of pool filters, and she has also set out to raise much-needed money for her nephew’s family to help them through their ordeal.

Julian was the second child treated at Westmead for a pool filter injury in the past 12 months.

“The main thing is to get to know your family pool - make sure the cover’s on, locate where the switch is for the filter,” she said.

“But it’s not only the pool at home, you could be at a friend’s pool, on holidays at a motel, and people need to know exactly where the switch is and where the children are playing.

“It could be any of our children, I just hope nobody has to go through this.

“Your life can change in an instant, life is precious.”

The Comobella Playgroup at Wellington, of which Julian was part, has sent the family easy-to-prepare food items and games for Luca.

Mrs Coon is planning a ‘Yoga in the Park’ fundraiser morning next month where residents can make a gold coin donation to help the Smith Family.

Mrs Coon is also pledging money from the sale of her yoga DVD to the family.

Anyone who wants to make a donation can contact Mrs Coon on 0402 754 606.

emily.wheeler@ruralpress.com