"It was Christmas 2007 and we noticed that Holly, our daughter who was two just before Christmas, was a little unsteady and starting to fall over quite a lot. She was not ill and this didn't seem to be bothering her.  We went away for New Year and when we returned I took her to our GP on 4th January who diagnosed an ear infection and prescribed some medication.

 

"She was getting more and more wobbly on her feet and even resorted to crawling around.  On Sunday 6th January my Husband Gary and I took her to Kidderminster Hospital Primary Care to have a check up as we were not satisfied that she was suffering from an ear infection as she was so well in herself.  They put our minds at rest and assured us that our GP's diagnosis was correct.

 

"After another week Holly was still not right and I took her back to our GP on Monday 14th January. By this time her upper body was uncoordinated and she was struggling to touch her nose or spoon feed herself properly. My GP organised for her to be admitted for observation at Worcester Hospital the following day.

 

"On Thursday 17th January she had an MRI scan which showed a tumour.

 

"We were transferred immediately to Birmingham Children's Hospital and further tests and scans confirmed that the tumour was accessible and could be removed. Obviously our whole family were devastated at the news but so relieved that we were given hope that the tumour could be removed.

 

"Holly had the major operation to remove her tumour on Monday 21st January 2008 -exactly one month from the very first time we noticed her getting unsteady.

 

"Unfortunately, due to complications following the surgery, Holly was taken into Intensive Care - these were the worst hours of our whole lives!

 

"Even when she was moved back on to her ward she was still sleeping and didn't really come around from her operation for a few days and then she was only able to mumble certain words, although we were so happy when she decided to pull at her feeding tube and drink her milk from a bottle.

 

"The days that followed were horrendous and Holly was so poorly. It affected so many people around us and it was hard to see our family and friends so upset. Everyone was praying for her to get better.

 

"All this time Gary and I were trying to catch the odd hour or two sleep on the ward which was not ideal.

 

"Holly had been in hospital for a week when we were offered accommodation at Edward House.  When I was first given a key to our room, it felt as though I'd walked into paradise -just seeing a bed and somewhere away from the ward was such a blessing! I will never forget the feeling of walking into that room for the first time — it seems strange now but I think we were so exhausted but didn't realise how bad we were until we were almost at breaking point.  That night we left the ward at 7pm and didn't wake until 8am the next morning!

 

"Edward House was a real godsend to us and we cannot thank the charity enough for providing this for us. I don't think we made the most of everything that is offered as we never used to leave the ward until about 10pm when we knew Holly was settled for the night and Gary used to get up about 5:30am as he had to get to work in Kidderminster so I used to get up and get to the ward before 8am to give Holly her breakfast.  Therefore, although we used the laundry facilities, we never used the kitchens or came over for afternoon tea.

 

"Thankfully we were told that Holly's tumour was benign and although she will need monitoring for a long while yet, we are so thankful that she is still with us and getting better everyday.

as told by Rachel Whitmore (Holly's Mum)

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