A heartbroken mom thought her young daughter had simply “stuffed her face” at a birthday party after she fell sick — only to later learn the little girl was suffering from a cancerous brain tumor.
Belinda Bryant, 30, took daughter Lexi to her twin cousins’ party on April 17, with the 7-year-old throwing up following the festivities.
“I just thought she’d stuffed her face too much at the party because kids tend to indulge at parties,” UK-based Bryant told Kennedy News. “So I left it for a little while and didn’t send her to school.”
However, Lexi’s illness continued for several days, prompting the concerned mom to take her daughter to the doctor.
Shockingly, Bryant alleged that she was sent home from 20 doctor and hospital visits in the subsequent six weeks, despite little Lexi becoming increasingly ill.
Mom Belinda Bryant initially thought that Lexi had eaten too much at the party. However, she started seeking out medical attention with her daughter’s symptoms did not subside. Kennedy News and Media
Lexi became progressively sicker in the six weeks following the party, but her mom says she was turned away from 20 doctors and hospitals when she asked for further testing. Kennedy News and Media“Lexi was constantly being sick and nothing was staying down,” the mom stated. “She started getting really lethargic and tired, just sleeping all the time and was going downhill.”
Finally, on June 6, doctors performed a CT scan and discovered the real cause of Lexi’s sickness — a brain tumor.
A subsequent MRI scan revealed there was a second tumor growing on the girl’s spine before a biopsy revealed both growths were cancerous.
“It’s very aggressive and it is life-threatening. Lexi’s got a 50% chance of survival,” Bryant devastatingly told Kennedy News. “It’s heartbreaking to hear as her mom.”
Last week, Lexi began intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with the treatment set to last six weeks.
The youngster will then take a two-month break from the harrowing treatments before returning to the hospital for monthly chemo.
Now, Bryant hopes her heartbreaking story serves as a warning for other parents to look out for any worrying, persistent symptoms that their children are experiencing.
“At first you don’t think it’s something serious because they’re just being sick. You don’t immediately think, ‘My child’s got a brain tumor,'” she explained. “You think of the other things like food poisoning or a bug from school but if any parent starts seeing these signs in a child, please get them checked out.”
Lexi’s cancer diagnosis has put a considerable financial strain on the family, with both Bryant and her husband, Luke, having to give up work to travel to the hospital for their daughter’s treatments.
Lexi is pictured with mom Belinda, dad Luke and her big brother Callum. Kennedy News and Media
Last week, Lexi started grueling radiation and chemotherapy treatment. Kennedy News and MediaThey are also having to juggle caring for their other child, Callum, 11, who is not allowed to join them on hospital visits and is staying with family.
The couple has started a GoFundMe in the hopes that good Samaritans can ease some of the financial fallout they are experiencing from Lexi’s diagnosis.
Meanwhile, Bryant is now vowing to fight on behalf of other parents to make sure their kids get the right diagnosis and aren’t turned away from doctors with inaccurate information.
“You know your child as a parent,” she declared. “Keep fighting and do not give up until you get the answers you need.”
