“We didn’t think he’d make it to five … so that’s insane,” mum Kelly Montgomery says.

At just 10 months old, Ryder Montgomery was diagnosed with a rare, fast-growing brain tumour, with doctors giving him only a 10 per cent chance of survival.

“It was like my worst fears coming alive,” Kelly recalled, having lost her own sister to a brain tumour as a child.

What followed was a brutal fight for survival — surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Now, against all odds, three years later Ryder is cancer-free. He spends his days playing with his sister Charlise — his best friend — and dreaming about the future.

“I want to be a policeman,” he said proudly.

For his parents, every milestone feels bigger because of what young Ryder has overcome.

“Just knowing he’s gotten through it… everything he does is massive,” dad Alan said.

While the fear hasn’t completely gone, the family is focused on what they have now.

“We’ve got our boy back… and time to be a family,” Alan said.

Ryder’s story is now helping others, as his family supports the Children’s Cancer Institute’s “86K for a Cure” campaign by raising funds and hope for kids facing cancer.

Because little Ryder is living proof that even the smallest chance can still mean everything.