An 11-year-old girl was seen 30 times by medics over the course of three years before she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Tia Gordon, from Northampton, was told she was suffering from migraines and stomach bugs before she was admitted to hospital as an emergency when her condition started to affect her balance and ability to walk.
She underwent an emergency scan, which revealed she had a 3.5cm tumour on her brain.
Her mother, Imogen Darby, said Tia had been taken to GPs, A&E and was assessed by NHS 111 and also had her glasses prescription changed four times before the tumour was spotted.
She said: “Over more than three years, I took Tia to doctors, she was refused MRIs, she was refused to be seen by emergency paediatrics, I called 111, I went to A&E, she had her glasses changed four times, she was given medication and she had a consultant, but it took for her to be unable to walk for her to get the care she needed.”
Ms Darby first noticed Tia’s symptoms during the COVID lockdown in March 2020 when her daughter started being sick.
Image: Tia ended up being admitted to hospital as an emergency. Pic: PA
She was sick every few months, then monthly, then more frequently.
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In the few months before the diagnosis, Tia was taken to the GP around 10 times and her mother called NHS 111 around three times.
When she took her to A&E, Ms Darby was told she had a stomach bug and to “kind of just leave her to it”.
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But Tia then started “holding her neck funny”. Doctors, however, said it was stiff “from sleeping on it”.
By that point, Ms Darby had managed to get a paediatrics appointment and explained about Tia’s neck. She was referred for physio.
Image: The 11-year-old girl was assessed by medics around 30 times before being told she had a brain tumour. Pic: PA
Ms Darby felt something was still wrong with the way Tia was holding her neck, but a consultant said it would be months for an MRI for “peace of mind”.
Tia’s condition began to deteriorate, with her being sick most mornings and vomiting every day between November 2023 to January 2024.
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In the few days before the diagnosis, Tia’s school phoned to say she was holding her neck strangely and was a bit off balance.
She was taken to Northampton General hospital, where she was unable to walk in a straight line.
A CT scan revealed Tia’s tumour, which is a pilocytic astrocytoma – the most common type of childhood brain tumour. An ambulance was called to take her to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Tia was operated on over a 10-hour period and the benign tumour was removed.
“It was quite a horrendous day,” Ms Darby said. “From the surgery, they managed to get 96% of it out.”
Tia will have an MRI scan every three months for the next five years and is undergoing physiotherapy, as well as having regular meetings with neurologists.
Meanwhile, Tia is keen to get back to her activities.
“We all call her Dr Doolittle, she absolutely loves anything to do with animals,” Ms Darby said.
Cameron Miller, director of external affairs and strategy at the Brain Tumour Charity, said: “For many brain tumour patients, it simply takes too long to be diagnosed – and this is one of the reasons why we’re calling for a National Brain Tumour Strategy.”
A mum has been sentenced for killing her six-year-old son after hearing “demonic voices”.
Karolina Zurawska, 42, previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of Alexander Zurawski.
Alexander was found dead at a property in the Gendros area of Swansea on 29 August last year.
His mother was found next to him with a handsaw at her side.
At Swansea Crown Court on Friday, the judge also sentenced Zurawska for the attempted murder of her 67-year-old father, Krzysztof Siwi, earlier the same day.
She was handed an indefinite hospital order.
The court heard Zurawska had previously been the “best mother” to her son, who was recovering from a brain tumour which left him partially sighted and requiring a cane to walk.
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In a tribute released after his death, Alexander’s family said he was a “very kind child” who was “very clever and very mature for his age”.
“Alexander was always well behaved and never naughty,” the statement added.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Following the funeral, and after nine days of mourning, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast their votes, with white smoke announcing to the world when a new pope has been elected.
Cardinal Nichols told Sky’s Anna Botting: “I hope nobody goes into this conclave, as it were, with the sole purpose of wanting to win. I think it’s very important that we go in wanting to listen to each other… It has to be together, trying to sense what God wants next. Not just for the church.”
Becoming emotional, he also said the final message he would like to have given Pope Francis is “thank you”.
The 88-year-old died peacefully on Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed.
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Prince William will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.
Cardinal Nichols explained that the funeral would be “exactly the same Catholic rite as everyone else – just on a grander scale”.
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis will be the first pope in a century to be interred outside the Vatican – and will instead be laid to rest at his favourite church, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood.
He will also be buried in just one simple wooden coffin, instead of the traditional three coffins which are usually used for pontiffs.
Born in Crosby near Liverpool, Cardinal Vincent Nichols hoped to be a lorry driver as a child – but as a teenager reportedly felt the calling to join the priesthood while watching Liverpool FC.
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As cardinal, he is known for leading the church’s work tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, for which he received the UN Path to Peace Award.
He was criticised by the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which said he “demonstrated a lack of understanding” of the impact of abuse and “seemingly put the reputation of the church first”.
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Cardinal Nichols, responding to the findings, previously told Sky News he was “ashamed at what has happened in the context of the Catholic Church” and promised to improve the church’s response.
He has appeared to rule himself out of the running for pope, telling reporters he was “too old, not capable”.
A man who was shot dead by police had called 999 himself, an initial investigation into the death has suggested.
David Joyce was killed by “a single gunshot wound to the abdomen” after officers shot him at close range outside Milton Keynes railway station on 1 April, according to preliminary findings.
The 38-year-old, who lived in the town, was given first aid by officers but died at the scene.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the circumstances leading up to the death and revealed its initial findings.
It said it had established that Mr Joyce was armed with a 12cm steak knife when he “ran at two officers” before being shot by an officer from a Thames Valley Police armed response unit.
The IOPC said police had been alerted to the incident following a 999 call “from a man reporting that ‘there is a man with a gun down at the train station in Milton Keynes'”.
“The call handler rang back after the caller hung up during the call and spoke to the man again who said the man with the gun was acting suspiciously, looked like he was about to do something bad and ‘definitely’ had a gun,” it said in a statement.
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“Records show that the mobile phone number used to make the 999 call had been used to call police before and was linked to Mr Joyce.
“CCTV footage shows Mr Joyce making a phone call at a time which matches with when the 999 call to police was made.”
Image: Police at the scene of the incident. Pic: PA
An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Milton Keynes Coroners’ Court earlier in April and a full hearing will follow after the IOPC investigation concludes.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “We again extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of David Joyce and all those affected by this incident. We continue to keep his family informed of our progress.
“Our investigators are working hard to piece together the circumstances leading up to Mr Joyce being shot by a police officer and have already carried out a significant amount of enquiries.”
He said the enquiries included accounts from the police officers involved, CCTV from inside and outside the station, footage from officers’ bodyworn cameras and police vehicle dashcam footage, and statements from members of the public who witnessed the shooting.
The IOPC added that, as is standard in investigations following a fatal police shooting, it would “look at the decisions and actions of officers prior to and during their interaction with Mr Joyce – including the medical care they provided at the scene; if the lethal force was necessary, justified and proportionate; and whether the officers followed policy”.