Introduction.
Some time in May 98 Kirra's Mum became concerned that she was constantly leaning her head to the left and took her to see our Doctor. The Doctor found nothing wrong and Paula was told to bring her back in a week if she was still concerned. In a week Paula returned. The Doctor still thought nothing was wrong, but made an appointment for Kirra to see a Consultant at Swindon PM Hospital. The Consultant sent her for a sight test, which showed she had normal vision. Shortly after Kirra suffered with two ear infections and her medication seemed to stop her leaning, When she finished her medication her head tilt came back again. Kirra had a second eye test which she also passed. On the second visit to see the consultant Paula mentioned we were going on holiday and Kirra would be flying.Day 0.
The consultant wanted Kirra to have a Brain Scan before she flew. (By this time Paula felt everyone thought she was just a paranoid mother, but she felt something was not right.) An MRI scan was arranged for the day before we were due to fly out to the Canaries.
On Tuesday the 22nd of September 1998 we sent the two elder kids off to school, then Mum and I went to Princess Margaret Hospital ( Swindon, England.) with Kirra. We didn't mind waiting 3 hours before Kirra's Scan, rightly or wrongly we did feel the staff thought it was a waste of their time, Kirra was running around playing and chatting like any 17 month girl would be. In fact the lack of concern was quite reassuring, as we just wanted the all clear so we could fly off to the Canaries in the morning. The registrar's notes stated Kirra was to have a cannula fitted to administer the sedative, this puzzled the doctor as he had always given oral sedation, still he followed the registrar's instructions and we took Kirra down to the MRI scanner. After a while sitting next to this big noisy machine a nurse came in and injected some contrast into Kirra's cannula, we thought nothing of this, the nurse said it's just to highlight the blood vessels. After another 20+ minutes the nurse came back and said as she had a neck tilt they wanted to scan her spine. (Good I thought nothing wrong so they're looking elsewhere.) Due to Kirra waking up and a second sedative not having any effect, it was decided not to do a spine scan. We were taken to a little side area where the MRI Doctor told us the scan was not normal, (a bit of a shock to say the least, as I also thought Paula was being paranoid and it was just an ear infection.)Day 1. Blurrrrrr!!!!
Kirra had a lump in her brain just above her neck. We were taken to another room and had to wait to find out our next step. When the doctors came back they showed us the scan. The tumour showed up as a white lump about the size of a hens egg. We were told she would have to go to The Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. We wanted to take her ourselves, and after going home, arranging for friends and relatives to look after our other two girls, we repacked our suitcases and headed for the Radcliffe Infirmary.
We arrived at the Radcliffe Infirmary about 4.30pm and Kirra was admitted to the Children's Ward. Kirra was started on Steroids to reduce an inflammation around her Brain Tumour.
In The morning we had a meeting with Mr. Richards (Neurosurgeon), The Senior Paediatric Registrar, the Hospital Registrar and Kirra's nurse. Only Mr. Richards Spoke and no one else gave eye contact. ( we didn't find out until weeks later they suspected the worst.) Mr. Richards started by saying The next few weeks will be the most stressful we would ever have. Kirra has a Brain Tumour and if it is not removed she will die! The PMH scans did not show as much detail as needed and Kirra will need to have another scan tomorrow, they will also do a spine scan to see if the Brain Tumour has spread. Out of the three possible outcomes ( Benign, Mixed or Malignant ) prepare for the worst and hope for the best.Day 2. Second MRI scan
We weren't told much more, as the Scans weren't as detailed as they would have liked. Kirra spent the rest of the day either in the ward play room with her sisters or around Oxford with us.
Slept quite well. Kirra ended up sleeping on the fold up mattresses with us. Took Kirra to Oxford university Park for the morning. Back to Hospital for 12pm so Kirra could have her pre-med. Paula carried her down for her second MRI Scan about 1.30pm. We didn't collect her until 3.45pm. Dr Mann (the Anaesthetist.) informed us Kirra had stopped breathing under the anaesthetic, this was why she was so long in recovery. Dr Mann also said Kirra would have to be transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital Paediatric ICU after her operation tomorrow. This was a precaution as a heavier anaesthetic was to be used and her oxygen will have to be monitored for 48 hours after the operation. The steroids Kirra was taking gave her a good appetite and she demolished two large oranges before she finally went to sleep.