Brave tot given weeks to live after nursery worker found worrying symptom at nap time
A young family's world has been torn apart after what appeared to be a harmless lump on their daughter's neck led to a terminal diagnosis.
Callie Shaw had been napping at nursery when a worker noticed a small swelling on her neck under he ear. Her mum, Sarah, was called immediately and the one-year-old was rushed to Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
Doctors initiually reassured the family that there was nothing to worry about and sent the tot home. However, the family returned to the hospital several times and she was eventually referred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital for checks, reports the Mirror.
Following various tests, Callie was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer called a rhabdoid tumour - known to mostly affect babies and young childrens.
After enduring four gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, the tumour began to shrink. However, a follow-up scan showed the cancer had spread to her lungs.
Doctors told the family her condition was now terminal and devastatingly, she had just weeks to live.
Callie's aunt, Chakara Tudor, told the Liverpool Echo: "We were just heartbroken. We'd built up so much hope she was going to get better.
'It was all ripped away from us. We just didn't expect it. We thought this operation would be it, she was going to be on the road to a full recovery."
'All the way through this, all the way through chemotherapy, she's been smiling all the way through, happy. She's just such a happy, brave little girl.
'She lights up the room every time she comes in. You wouldn't even think there was anything wrong with her. She's just getting on with it.'
The family has launched a GoFundMe page to help make Callie's remaining weeks as special as they can. The money raised will also be put towards funeral costs.
Chakara said: "She will have to spend her last few weeks in a hospice so we want to make sure she's as comfortable as possible. No one should have to go through this, never mind a one-year-old child.
"Callie won't only be leaving her mum behind, she'll be leaving her brother, Kyran, who has been the best brother anyone could ask for. He absolutely adores her."
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The GoFundMe reads: 'It's a rare and very aggressive type of cancer and Callie has been given 4-6 weeks. She will have to spend her last few weeks in a hospice so she's as comfortable as she can be.
'No one should have to endure this, never mind a one-year-old child. Callie will be leaving not only her mother behind but also her two-year-old brother who adores the bones off her.'
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