How mother’s instinct saved tumour girl doctors said had heartburn
‘We had to beg them to scan her’
A MOTHER’S instinct saved the life of her sick little girl when she asked for a second diagnosis – and found out her two-year-old had a huge brain tumour.
A GP initially said Aimee Wilcox’s daughter Lara had acid reflux and simply needed to take Gaviscon.
When this only seemed to make matters worse, she was referred to a hospital – but doctors there said she was ‘clinically well’ and scheduled a non-urgent MRI scan two months later.
However, Lara still wasn’t her usual bubbly self at home and her mother knew it was something more sinister.
Mrs Wilcox took her to a different hospital where she was given an urgent scan.
Doctors found she had a cancerous brain tumour which was causing an extreme build- up of fluid pressing against her brain stem and spinal cord.
They operated three days later, saving her life and preventing her from suffering severe brain damage.
When Lara was first taken to the GP in June 2016, she had symptoms including vomiting, lethargy, neck pain, and had trouble balancing.
She was prescribed Gaviscon for heartburn, but five days later Mrs Wilcox, 29, took her back to the GP because the symptoms seemed worse.
A week later, on June 22, Lara was taken to Bath’s Royal United Hospital (RUH), where doctors said it was not necessary to carry out an urgent scan as she was ‘clinically well’.
In fact, she was not well at all. ‘We could see the impact and she was fading away,’ said Mrs Wilcox, 29. ‘How had our daughter gone from chatty and bubbly, full of life, to not being interested in anything? She was not eating or drinking or playing with her brother.’
In July Mrs Wilcox, an Open University student, took her to Bristol Children’s Hospital. ‘We took her to Bristol out of sheer desperation,’ she said. ‘ We didn’t know what else to do.’
Paediatricians carried out an urgent scan and found the cancer. Mrs Wilcox said: ‘The build-up of fluid was so immense that they were very grateful we took her there.
‘They said it was extreme. That was not what we wanted to hear. It was so frustrating to be told that. We had to beg the doctors [at RUH] to scan her, but they didn’t.’
She added: ‘We were sure something was seriously wrong, yet it felt at times that our concerns were not taken seriously.
‘While we were happy that an MRI scan was arranged, when her illness got worse we knew it had to happen sooner.’ Lara was later flown to Florida for specialist proton treatment to get rid of the last of the cancer. The doctors at the hospital in Bristol expressed deep concerns that she was not referred for urgent scans when she was first taken to her GP.
Royal United Hospital has admitted doctors ‘ missed opportunities’ to spot Lara’s cancer. The hospital’s trust ran an investigation into the case and there is now a quicker referral system for brain scans.
RUH also said staff have now been given updated training about spotting symptoms of brain tumours in children. A spokesman said: ‘ Patient care and safety is our priority. We are sorry if that care does not always meet our very high standards.’
Lara, who is now four and starting school in September, has recovered, although she may develop a hormone imbalance and there is a 50 per cent chance she could lose hearing in one ear. There is also a chance of brain damage, and the tumour could still return.
The family have now instructed compensation lawyers to look into the case.