Mum proves doctors wrong and saves daughter's life thanks to internet
A mum has told how she proved doubting doctors wrong and saved her daughter's life – thanks to the internet.
Carly Hornbuckle was convinced her daughter Bella Flint was seriously ill – but doctors told her it was simply attention-seeking.
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Carly Hornbuckle and Jordan Flint with Bella, four, and Imogen, one, at their home in Markfield
She began searching the internet for the answers and after typing in her four-year-old's symptoms, discovered they pointed to a brain tumour.
After convincing doctors, Bella had a scan – which revealed a tumour the size of a golf ball on her brain.
The cancer, medulloblastoma, affects just 80 children nationwide each year.
Carly, 25, of Markfield, said: "I knew there was something seriously wrong – you know your own children.
"I knew it was something more and began searching the internet for answers.
"Bella's symptoms just seemed to fit."
After an eight-hour operation, surgeons at the Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham, managed to remove the tumour.
She will spend this year having chemotherapy to ensure the cancer is completely gone.
Now Carly and partner Jordan Flint, 28, have set up a charity, Tinkerbella's Wishes, to mark their daughter's bravery and to help others.
Any cash raised will be split between providing for Bella's future needs and to funding medical research into children's brain tumours.
Jordan said: "We are very proud of Bella. She is so brave."
Bella became ill early last year when she started being sick every morning when she woke.
A GP suggested it might be because she was unsettled at the arrival of baby sister Imogen.
Carly said: "I wasn't convinced but I thought it might be possible."
By August, Bella was being sick from the moment she woke each day, prompting Carly to start searching on the internet.
In October, Carly used the internet evidence to convince doctors to refer Bella to experts at Leicester Royal Infirmary, where the tumour was found.
She had the operation in Nottingham, followed by six weeks radiotherapy treatment to make sure the cancer had not spread. She will spend this year having chemotherapy.
Carly said: "The surgery was a success and surgeons said the cancer hadn't spread.
"But the radiotherapy has affected Bella's spine and means she will never grow to more than 4ft.
"The chemotherapy could also lead to some degree of learning difficulty, hearing loss and kidney damage."
Tinkerbella's Wishes has so far raised about £4,000.
The family are now planning a series of fund-raising activities, including a ball, charity football matches and golf day.
Professor Richard Grundy, the country's only professor of paediatric neurological oncology, at Queen's Medical Centre, said: "Bella has been very fortunate.
"She came to us relatively early, the surgery went extremely well and we were able to get on with her treatment. The earlier it begins, the better."
He welcomed fund-raising for research into brain tumours.
Prof Grundy said: "We need to understand more about why tumours occur."
11 Comments
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by zara, leic
Monday, February 08 2010, 3:41PM
“a very brave little girl best wishes for the future”
by oldhenry, Leicester
Monday, February 08 2010, 3:22PM
“Tony-ex pat is nearly to the truth than many realise. The vast majority of people going to a GP are not really ill, theyhave colds, coughs pain here or there. And the doctor knows this, so it is usually 'wait and see' , if it develops or persists he/she will send you to the hospiatl for an examination. But this cost money, ( the health service is not free- it costs billions) it has to be restricted or he/she will get told off for sending trivial patients to the hospital. This does lead to some tragic cases, such as this one, but the odds are small- at 80 per year they are so small no wonder a doctor did not spot it. In the US , if you have very good insurance, you get a fantastic examination for anything, If you have no insurance you best not be ill. By the way havinga baby in the US, with Caesarian, cost $80K, that may deter a few in UK from having a room full!”
by Elizabeth, Highfields
Monday, February 08 2010, 1:48PM
“Lucky for her daughter that she followed her instincts and eventually got a correct diagnosis and treatment. Doctors do make mistakes, unfortunately they are often reluctant to admit to their mistakes or apologise. I was diagnosed with suspected tb and was told I had to be admitted to Infectious Diseases, when I presented to the GP with earache and sinus symptoms. It was then found that I had sinusitis, but the doctors concerned felt that they acted entirely correctly!”
by Mark, Leicester
Monday, February 08 2010, 12:56PM
“I'm glad we have the NHS in this country. I would rather have people wait a little longer and be treated then to be in a position where people don't see their doctor because they are scared that they can't afford to be treated.
Tony in Florida thinks that doctors here diagnose patients on statistics - I don't think so. I think doctors here are medically trained - not just statisticians. I would also imagine that there are misdiagnosed patients in America too. Thank heavens we don't live in the US. At least everyone here is treated equally and not based on how much money someone has in their pocket.”
by martin, le3
Monday, February 08 2010, 12:46PM
“Good luck to the little girl and her family.
Tony "Ex-pat" - nice one, trying to make a cheap political point out of a families near trajedy.
The full facts are unknown in this case, but I would hope that the individual GP concerned is investigated. Are you really trying to tell us that nobody has ever been mis-diagnosed in the US system? What I do know about the US system is that this little girl would never be able to get medical insurance, having had a diagnosis of a brain tumour - so her parents would live in terror of having to pay for any future medical bills. In the NHS they wont have to pay a penny for any treatment that their daughter will now need - the reason is that they pay for it in the taxation, as do I. And I am happy to pay a bit more tax to know that this family get free treatment. Perhaps to you this makes me a Communist?”
by steve, anstey
Monday, February 08 2010, 12:12PM
“I wish Bella and her family all the best for the future, but in reply to Tony in Florida, for all it's faults it is better to have a National Health Service like ours rather than nothing at all, which is what around 40 million americans have at the moment.
I underwent open heart surgery as a ten year old in 1964 on the NHS and I would not be here today if I had not access to such a brilliant organisation.”
by Karen Toon, Peterborough (org Ibstock)
Monday, February 08 2010, 11:16AM
“Wishing Bella a fast & full recovery. I teach IT and as a UKOnline centre promote the use of nhs choices, & other government public serv sites for this very reason.
Gp's are good but they're not GOD and we must remember they have a little knowledge about lots of health related queries. It's the specalists that we need to be talking too, especially where cancer & tumours are concerned!
x”
by Tony (ex pat), Lakeland. Fla. USA
Monday, February 08 2010, 10:52AM
“This is why so many people are so opposed to Obama's plans for a nationalized health system over here,
It is currently unaffordable to many people and does need fixing.
However, as one Rebuplican Congressman recently pointed out, diagnosis in the nationalised systems in the U.K. and Canada are generally arrived at on a statistical basis, without further, probing investigatory examinations. This case highlights the problem perfectly.
So glad that her Mum had the foresight to dig deeper into the problem.
Heres praying for a full recovery.”
by Michael Taylor, Leicester
Monday, February 08 2010, 10:34AM
“Sadly this doesn't surprise me. Some years ago our daughter was ill. She rapidly became too ill to move but twice our (ex) GP flatly refused to make a home visit, and diagnosed her over the phone , saying it was "a virus". Well, it turned out to be meningitis. And no, the 'glass test' doesn't always work. Happily she made a full recovery, but why did we need to take her to A&E to see a professional?”
by mrs c, leics
Monday, February 08 2010, 10:15AM
“Glad everything turned out well in the end, good luck for the future Bella. I think its a shame but there are so many timewasters that visit the GPs that we are all aften treated the same. Brain tumours are so very rare that many GPs will never expect to see one during there career but you should have had the symptoms taken seriously and investigated quicker. I was very lucky i took my child to our GP with similar symptoms and he was referred to the hospital that same day and a brain tumour was diagnosed. My child also had surgery and follow-on at Queens and its a fantastic hospital and we couldnt have asked for more care or better treatment.”