Davina McCall pays 'uplifting' visit to brain tumour sufferer Kirsty Waugh, 11, after youngster was diagnosed on the same day presenter had surgery to remove her own benign growth
Presenter Davina McCall made an "uplifting" visit to the home of an 11-year-old girl with a brain tumour - during which they share their experiences with the diagnosis.
Kirsty Waugh, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was diagnosed with a grade one benign brain tumour on 15 November 2024.
On the same day, Davina posted a video to tell her followers that she had just had surgery to remove her own similar tumour.
Noticing the coincidence, Kirsty's parents Mat and Kate decided to see if they could get in contact with the presenter- who lives locally - to get a message for their daughter.
After getting in touch through a friend of a friend, the celebrity not only sent Kirsty a video message but organised to come to her home on Friday, May 8.
Mat described Davina as funny and kind, saying that she chatted with the whole family for over an hour, including Kirsty's older sisters Isla and Doris.
The 53-year-old said: 'Davina had her brain tumour removed on the same day that Kirsty was admitted to hospital and diagnosed. She is local to us so I wondered if we could get a message from her.
'She is as lovely and warm and generous as you would hope. They talked a lot about their respective cancer treatment.
'It was a really uplifting experience. We all felt better for having spoken to her.'
He added: 'She is a very funny woman so there was an enormous amount of laughing. And a lot of hugging.
'We have grown up seeing Davina on TV from Big Brother right through to The Masked Singer. It was like speaking to a friend that you know about but have just never met.'
Kirsty first noticed some symptoms around September last year when she begun having trouble with her eyesight which the opticians couldn't fix using lenses.
Her parents then took her to the GP where she was signed up for some tests, but, while waiting for her appointment, she began having trouble with fatigue and memory loss.
On November 15, things took a turn for the worst and Kirsty started vomiting in the mornings- which urged her dad to rush her to hospital.
After getting in touch through a friend of a friend, the celebrity not only sent Kirsty a video message but organised to come to her home on Friday, May 8
Kirsty had an MRI and many tests, and later that day her dad received the devastating news that she had a tumour on her brain.
Looking back on the moment, Mat, who is a children's author, said: 'It was just me and her that day as her mum was away, and I just thought something didn't feel right.
'They took me into a side room to tell me that she had a brain tumour. It was a very surreal time because she seemed absolutely fine on the outside.
'It was a bombshell day. It is like something has flattened everything you know and believe in.
'I was absolutely devastated. It was really hard to take in.
'It was so strange because we would be talking about this with a box of tissues and then I would have to wipe my face and go back to Kirsty who was absolutely fine on the outside.'
Kirsty then had a seven-hour operation the following Wednesday where they did an endoscopic exploration and took a little bit of the tumour away, but they were unable to access all of it.
The schoolgirl, who will start grammar school in September, began chemotherapy the following week on a cycle of 70 weeks of treatment.
Now, the tumour has begun to shrink and in February her eyesight started to recover, along with her memory, which Mat says allowed her to read books and watch movies again.
Kirsty has been tolerating treatment well but has aches and pains, vertigo, and her hair is thinning a bit.
However, she has remained positive the whole time, even naming her tumour Terry after her favourite character in the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Mat added: 'We are really only at the beginning of a very long journey. But for now at least, we have got much of the girl back that we had in August 2024.
WHAT IS A COLLOID CYST?
A colloid cyst is a slow-growing tumour typically found near the center of the brain.
The benign growth contains gelatinous material.
Most patients present with headaches, although other symptoms including vertigo, memory problems and double vision can occur.
If large enough, a colloid cyst obstructs the movement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain.
This results in a build up of CSF in the ventricles of the brain and raises pressure in the skull.
Surgery may be required promptly in order to reduce the relatively high risk of sudden death.
'As Davina said, benign doesn't mean fine, because the tumour can cause all sorts of problems just by being there.
'When she got better we almost didn't want to talk about it because it could go again. Nothing is permanent.
'But to see her pick up a book again was absolutely brilliant. You take all of that completely for granted until it's gone."
To give back to those who gave her great care, Kirsty is crocheting 70 bunting triangles- marking each week of her treatment- to raise money for Children with Cancer UK.
So far, the campaign has raised over £21,000 for charity and the family have delivered leaflets about the work to thousands of homes across Kent.
Mat said: 'She couldn't see the end of the crochet hook, so she was just doing it based on touch. After her operation it was the first thing she wanted to pick up again.
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