SCHOOLGIRL’S SHOCK DIAGNOSIS
BY CLAIRE ELLIOT BRAVE Kara McInally had a tumour the size of a golf ball removed from her brain – four days after her mother took her for an eye test thinking she needed glasses.
Like most parents, 33-year-old Laura put the handful of times the active seven-year-old complained of a headache down to her straining to see or being dehydrated.
But a trip to the optician for a precautionary check-up after school, a fortnight before Christmas, ended up saving her life.
Four days later, on December 11, Kara had major surgery to remove a 4cm tumour from her brain.
The optician at her local Specsavers branch noticed Kara’s optic nerve was swollen and referred her to University Hospital Hairmyres, East Kilbride, where a scan confirmed the growth beneath her skull.
The devastating news came just months after Laura and husband Kevin, 44, almost lost their youngest daughter, Khloe, who was born with a rare lung condition in March last year.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening,” she said. “I thought she’d just need lenses or glasses. I didn’t have time to process it all. On the Tuesday, we were at the opticians being told her optic nerve was swollen and four days later, she’s in surgery getting a brain tumour removed.
“Me and her dad were allowed to go down to theatre with her. I was holding her hand and chatting about what she wanted for Christmas, and at the same time the anaesthetist whispered in my ear, ‘10 seconds’, [before she falls asleep]. I didn’t know if it was going to be the last conversation I’d have with my wee girl.”
The couple, from Motherwell, were warned that due to the location of the tumour, there was a 20 per cent chance Kara’s speech, learning and mobility would be impaired following