An 11-year-old girl was examined 30 times by doctors over three years before being diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Tia Gordon, from Northampton, was told she was suffering from migraines and stomach aches before being rushed to hospital when her condition began to affect her balance and ability to walk.
She underwent an emergency scan, which revealed she had a 3.5cm tumor on her brain.
Her mother, Imogen Darby, said Tia was taken to GPs, A&E and was assessed by NHS 111 and her glasses prescription was also changed four times before the tumor was detected.
She said: “For over three years I took Tia to doctors, she was refused MRI scans, she was refused access to the pediatric emergency room, I called 111, I went to the emergency room , she had her glasses changed four times, she was given medication and had a consultant, but it took her being unable to walk to get the care she needed.
Ms Darby first noticed Tia’s symptoms during the COVID lockdown in March 2020, when her daughter started getting sick.
She was sick every few months, then every month, then more frequently.
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, Mrs Darby was told she had a stomach illness and to “let it be”.
But then Tia started “funnyly holding her neck.” Doctors, however, said it was stiff “from sleeping on it.”
At this point, Mrs. Darby had managed to get an appointment at the pediatrics and explained Tia’s neck. She was referred to the physio.
Ms Darby felt something was still wrong with the way Tia was holding her neck, but a consultant said it would take 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 and January 2024.
A few days before the diagnosis, Tia’s school called to say that she was holding her neck strangely and was a little unbalanced.
She was taken to Northampton General Hospital, where she could no longer walk in a straight line.
A scan revealed Tia’s tumor, which is a pilocytic astrocytoma – the most common type of childhood brain tumor. An ambulance was called to take him to Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham.
Tia was operated on for 10 hours and the benign tumor was removed.
“It was a pretty horrible day,” Ms Darby said. “Thanks to the operation, they managed to remove 96%.”
Tia will have an MRI every three months for the next five years and will undergo physiotherapy sessions, as well as regular meetings with neurologists.
Meanwhile, Tia is eager to get back to business.
“We all call her Dr Doolittle, she loves anything to do with animals,” Ms Darby said.
Cameron Miller, director of external affairs and strategy at Brain Tumor Charity, said: “For many brain tumor patients, diagnosis simply takes too long – and that’s one of the reasons for which we call for a national program to fight brain tumors. Strategy.”
Sky news