MUM Caitlin Bell rushed her daughter to hospital fearing she had concussion in September of last year.
But the true cause of seven-year-old Delilah’s symptoms was far more serious and would see the family fearing their last Christmas together.
Delilah Bell was a happy child waiting to start Year 2 in September 2022Supplied
SuppliedAfter Delilah hit her head, her mum thought she must have concussion[/caption]
Caitlin, 32, of Frome, Somerset, said: “We took Delilah into A&E at Royal United Hospital in Bath after she bumped head while playing with her big brother, Murphy – an accident which potentially saved her life.
“She’d been a bit lethargic and had lost her appetite a bit, but nothing that rang loud alarm bells – however, knowing we should get it checked out, we took her to A&E just to be safe.
“Basic tests there didn’t pick up anything, and we were sent home.”
The next day, her first day of school, she started complaining about headaches.
“When she started vomiting, I took her back to A&E with what I assumed was concussion,” said Caitlin.
“This time, CT scans picked up something which the doctors said might require further investigation, and said they wanted to keep her in.”
Scans showed a massive 2.4in (6cm) tumour buried in the centre of the little girl’s brain.
Delilah should have been starting in Year 2 but she was being rushed into theatre for a 10.5-hour operation.
Caitlin said: “Taken into a side room, we were told the most devastating news – they were confident the swelling was a cancerous tumour, but didn’t know what type of tumour until it was taken out.
“The entire night before her surgery, knowing how big and deep in her brain the tumour was, I sat by her bed whispering into her ear how loved and amazing she was, thinking this could be the last thing she’d ever hear.”
After a terrifying day, nursery nurse Caitlin and husband Jamie, a glazier, were told the tumour had been successfully removed.
But the family knew this was far from the end of their journey.
A biopsy showed the brain tumour was a high-grade medulloblastoma, with a five-year survival rate of around 60 per cent and a high chance of recurrence.
Some 52 children are diagnosed with a medulloblastoma each year in the UK, making it the second most common form of brain tumour.
It’s fast growing, and Caitlin recalled: “The consultant doctor told us if she hadn’t banged her head, and we’d come in just a week later, it would’ve been game over.
“The tumour couldn’t have been more aggressive, faster growing.
“We had to throw the strongest possible treatment at Delilah to give her a chance of survival – six weeks of radiotherapy followed by the highest-possible strength chemotherapy.
“The consultant told us it was going to be a very long and tough road.”
‘Mum, will I ever get to wear a bridesmaid dress?’
Delilah on her parents’ wedding daySupplied
Delilah with her older brother Murphy and little brother Idris, just two weeks before her diagnosisSupplied
Caitlin and Jamie – childhood sweethearts – were due to get married after having three children; Murphy, Delilah and Idris.
They set the date for August 9, 2023.
Caitlin said: “Knowing what Delilah was going to go through, not knowing if she’d make it, Jamie and I briefly discussed if we should cancel the wedding, but Delilah made her thoughts incredibly clear.
“Anything that could give her a positive focus for the future we had to cling on to.”
In October 2022, Delilah started her daily targeted radiotherapy sessions, each time having a general anaesthetic so she didn’t move even a fraction of a millimetre.
“She was so incredibly sore and frightened, constantly asking when this was going to stop, but we kept telling her this was the only way the doctors could make her better,” Caitlin said.
“Looking completely broken and a shadow of her usual self, one morning she said to me: ‘Mum, will I ever get to wear a bridesmaid dress?’.
“I replied ‘Of course, that’s guaranteed!’, hiding the fact that nobody knew how this would end. But I had to give her hope.”
Bittersweet Christmas
At the start of December, the family got the news that there were no signs of new growth.
Allowed home to spend Christmas together, the family knew 2023 would likely be even tougher.
“We did our absolute best to make that Christmas extra-special, buying far too many presents for Delilah, but by then she’d lost her hair and could only eat through a feeding tube,” Caitlin said.
For months from January 2023, Delilah was given the highest possible strength chemotherapy combined with stem cell treatments.
“Jamie and I tag-teamed being by her side through those treatments,” Caitlin said.
“Because her immune system was so low, we were the only two allowed to see her, no friends or family, which made it so tough.”
Mum and daughter focused on planning the wedding and in mid-March, Delilah was allowed out of hospital for the first time – but just for a few hours.
Caitlin knew exactly where to take her – a wedding dress shop near the hospital Delilah had previously pointed it out, desperate to pick a bridesmaid dress.
Caitlin said: “Delilah pulled back the curtain and triumphantly marched out of the changing cubicle to give me a twirl in her glittering white bridesmaid dress, saying: ‘Mum, I feel so beautiful, I can’t wait for the wedding!’
“I just burst into tears and, giving her a massive hug, said: ‘Me too, I can’t wait’.
“I just prayed she would actually make it, her treatment would work and she’d get to wear this gorgeous dress for our big day.”
The seven-year-old had a brain tumour and would need urgent strong treatmentSupplied
Delilah after her surgery to remove the brain tumourSupplied
SuppliedDelilah lost her hair and was ‘incredibly sore and frightened’ during radiotherapy[/caption]
Big news and the big day
Delilah’s chemo finally finished on June 17, and three days later the family’s prayers were answered.
MRI scans showed the horrific treatment Delilah had endured for so long had worked – there were no signs of cancer in her body.
A week later she enjoyed a VIP trip to see mega-star singer Pink, her favourite singer, in London’s Hyde Park with her mum thanks to the charity Rays of Sunshine.
“It was then that it was all-hands-on-deck for the wedding,” Caitlin said.
“I wanted this to be Delilah’s day as much as ours, celebrating her new beginning when we’d almost lost her.
“She didn’t care one jot about that [feeding] tube or that she didn’t have any hair.
“She’d basically organised it around her, which was hilarious.
“I even joked in my speech that she’d upstaged Jamie and me on every level! There literally wouldn’t have been a wedding without her.
“Delilah danced and danced with her friends, and when it was finally bedtime, she said to me: ‘Mum, that was the best day of my life!’”
Delilah finally started her first day in Year 3 in September, swamped by her classmates as she walked through the school gates.
“It’s been the most unbelievable few months – I really have to pinch myself that this all really happened.”
Caitlin says Delilah’s condition is stable now, with no signs of the cancer returning and regular check-ups.
She says: “2023 has been the most intense, amazing rollercoaster imaginable, and this Christmas we’re ending on the biggest ever high.
“We’ll sit by the tree and look through the wedding photos, Delilah will wolf down her dinner, we’ll open our presents and raise a toast to a very bright – and hopefully slightly less eventful – 2024!”
SuppliedCaitlin and Delilah after she was given the all clear in the VIP of a Pink concert[/caption]
The family on mum Caitlin and dad Jamie’s wedding day, with kids Murphy, Delilah and IdrisSupplied
The first time Delilah tried on her bridesmaid dressSupplied