A MUM has told how her family’s lives fell apart when her daughter unexpectedly fell ill.
Karen Kinsella first noticed something was wrong with Emily, 14, when she would fall asleep when she was supposed to be doing school work.
MEN MediaKaren Kinsella with her daughter Emily[/caption]
MEN MediaDoctors discovered Emily had a brain tumour at age 14[/caption]
MEN MediaThey are fund raising for a trial treatment for Emily[/caption]
And just a few days later Emily got a headache, and her face dropped on one side.
Karen texted a photo to their GP who told her to rush Emily to A&E when doctors told her she had a brain tumour.
She was immediately moved to Manchester Children’s Hospital and underwent surgery to remove a section of the brain tumour.
Karen told Manchester Evening News: “Three days later they came and told us the tumour was very nasty.
“They said it was the worst case scenario and that they couldn’t give a number on how long she was going to live.”
Their family’s lives were turned upside down – with doctors telling them the tumour was “treatable” but not “curable”.
However, after finishing a round of chemotherapy, the tumour was stabilised for a while.
It meant Emily was able to live a relatively normal life, and was able to once again hang out with friends.
But just a few weeks before Christmas in 2021, tragedy struck again as Emily began to have problems swallowing.
She was forced to get another scan – and was told the original tumour had returned as well as a new one.
The second one appeared at the brain stem, meaning it was inoperable.
Karen explained: “The Christie did agree to do 10 sessions of radiotherapy at a lower dose, but then she ended up in intensive care because she couldn’t breathe and was placed on oxygen.
“She was there for six days and we were told to prepare for the worst twice. By this time she had pneumonia and her lung had collapsed. But she just didn’t give up.
“They thought she wasn’t going to make it. Her friends all came to say goodbye. We were all crying by her bedside. Then all of a sudden she began breathing on her own and they were able to reduce her oxygen. The doctors and nurses said it was a miracle.”
Emily is now 16, has finished her radiotherapy, and spent Christmas at home surrounded by her family.
Now the family are hoping she will soon treatment via a trial drug available in France.
It would mean the family would be forced to fork out £3,900 every month and drive 12 hours there.
Karen said: “The hope is that it will keep Emily alive until something comes along.
“It won’t cure her but it could prolong her life and that’s all we want for her.
“We’d like to get Emily on the drug for a few months and then we will turn our focus to start lobbying the UK government so that she can access it here.
“It’s not just the money, it’s the travel to France. It’s the time off work and you just have to put your life on hold. We will find the money, even if we have to sell the house.
They have now set up a GoFundMe page to fund the treatment.
Karen said: “She won’t be able to go back to school so she just wants to be able to help others. The focus for us now is this drug.
“We just want to keep her alive long enough for a miracle. If we can keep her alive for a year or two, who knows what treatments can come through in that time.”