Mother ignores 3 warning signs of 5-year-old daughter with advanced brain cancer, thinks she just fainted from playing in the sun
Holly Brown, a 31-year-old British mother from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, a housewife and mother of four, was overcome with grief and guilt when her five-year-old daughter Olivia was diagnosed with advanced brain cancer.
In late May, Olivia started feeling dizzy and vomiting. Which Holly thought was just heatstroke from her daughter playing in the sun too long. She gave her daughter water, iced her, and let her rest in her ทางเข้า ufabet https://ufabet999.app room, and by the evening she was back in her good spirits. So she wasn’t too worried.
However, the next day, Olivia still had vomiting and was weak, which Holly misunderstood as the baby not having recovered enough. So she continued to care for the baby, unaware that a serious illness was lurking.
Even after seeing a doctor and taking medication as recommended, Olivia’s symptoms did not improve. She was vomiting frequently, had headaches, and was so weak that she could not stand on her own. Holly decided to take her daughter to a larger hospital.
Doctors discovered that Olivia had a dangerous brain tumor that was blocking her cerebrospinal fluid flow. Emergency surgery was needed to save her life. But the tumor was in a location that could not be completely removed, and the cancer had spread to her spinal cord.
Holly was devastated when she found out the diagnosis. “At first I thought she just had a normal illness, but it turned out she had a malignant tumor growing in the part of her brain that controls balance and movement,” she said.
Within days, Olivia underwent two major surgeries, but only 95% of the tumor was removed because the remaining part was too close to her brain to be removed without damaging it.
Holly shared her daughter’s story to warn parents to watch out for early signs of a brain tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). Which typically occurs in children ages 3 to 8 and can be confused with a common medical condition:
1. Unexplained vomiting or nausea. Chronic vomiting without signs of food poisoning or general disease. Often occurs in the morning or when changing positions. Problems with movement and balance.
2. Difficulty walking, standing unsteadily, or losing balance when changing posture. May have hand tremors or muscle weakness. Changes in the eyes.
3. Swollen eyes, squinting, or abnormal vision, such as blurred vision or difficulty focusing.
Olivia continues to fight the disease. Holly hopes that sharing this story will help parents recognize abnormalities in their children early on. So they can avoid the same terrible situation her family had to face.