‘Fighter’ Chloe inspires friend’s walk for brain tumour charity
MUM SHARES CHALLENGES FACED BY FAMILY AFTER DAUGHTER’S CANCER DIAGNOSIS AT AGE OF TWO
The NHS are incredible. They paid partly for us [to get to America] and for all of her treatment
Theresa Cotterell, Chloe’s mum
A MUM from Kirby-in-ashfield has spoken about the challenges faced by her daughter after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour at just two years old.
Chloe Askew was diagnosed with an ependymoma brain tumour in 2017 when she began losing her balance, stooping her head and regularly being sick.
Chloe, who was born in Suttonin-ashfield, was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham and three days later had a successful operation to remove the “tangerine-sized” tumour.
Her mum, Theresa Cotterell, 40, who worked as carer for adults with autism before becoming a full-time carer for Chloe, said: “One morning she couldn’t walk so we rushed her to hospital.
“We said Chloe’s symptoms were those of a brain tumour but the doctor said it couldn’t be that because she could lift her arms.
“The next day, she had an MRI scan which revealed Chloe had a brain tumour the size of a tangerine.”
Chloe was eligible for proton beam therapy but, because it wasn’t available in the UK at the time, she had to travel to Jacksonville, Florida, for treatment.
Chloe, her parents and siblings, Ellie, 15, Josh, 12, and Jenson, 7, flew to America on December 22, 2017.
She received 33 rounds of proton beam therapy over six weeks before returning home in March 2018. The NHS helped with travelling costs and also funded the treatment.
Theresa said: “It was a shock because we were quite naïve. They removed all of the tumour so it seemed fantastic and I just thought there would be a simple follow-up.
“But then there was a big meeting in which I was told that because of how aggressive the tumour was it would come back if Chloe did not have radiotherapy.
“And because of Chloe’s age normal chemotherapy would have been worse for her, as it can’t really target the tumour well.
“The NHS are incredible. They paid partly for us to get there and for all of her treatment. I can’t thank them enough. The rest of the money we thought that we’d get a loan or manage it somehow for Chloe, but our friends set up a fundraiser for us, which was also incredible.
“The proton beam centre provided all these sorts of attractions like Disney and Universal, and we tried to make a positive out of an awful time and make it as much of an adventure for the kids as we could despite Chloe being really poorly.”
Although the tumour was removed, the six-year-old still suffers from mobility problems,
developing arachnoiditis – a debilitating condition characterised by severe stinging and burning pain and neurologic problems – as a result of the operations.
Theresa, who has now moved the family from Kirby-in-ashfield to a bungalow in Lincolnshire that is more suitable for the six-yearold, has been inspired by the fighting spirit that her daughter had displayed over the last four years.
She said: “She’s such a little fighter.
“She always had an attitude even before she was diagnosed.
“We’d argue over things when she was two and she would win, so I think that attitude is what has gotten her through this terrible ordeal that she’s had to face.
“She’s been so strong and resilient as children are but it really does bring it home to you when you’re going through such a turbulent time, she just gets on with it.
“All the many teams that have worked with her during her treatment love her because of her attitude and sass. Like the times when she’d pretend to be asleep in hospital when the health workers came around.”
Ruth Jones, 15, a friend of Chloe’s from Nottingham, completed a 5,000-step walk around Sherwood Forest as part of charity Brain Tumour Research’s Walk of Hope fundraising event on Saturday. She received celebrity endorsements from Alesha Dixon and Keith Lemon star Leigh Francis for the walk, which aims to raise money and awareness for the charity.
#Chloe also did her own shorter walk on the evening of Thursday, supported by a walker.
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We remain focused on finding a cure, to help prevent more families from having their lives turned upsidedown by this terrible disease.
“We are very grateful to Ruth for taking on this fundraising challenge and supporting our cause.”