‘An eye test helped reveal my daughter’s massive brain tumour’

The mother of a girl diagnosed with a brain tumour so large it distorted the shape of her brain says the ordeal has helped her see the importance of children’s eye tests.

Sophie, 35, from Tean in Staffordshire, took her seven-year-old daughter Esmai to the opticians in January 2024 after she complained she could see spots.

They were told there were no problems but a year later Esmai experienced what her mum believed was a “mini seizure”.

Sophie took her back to the opticians and was told to go straight to A&E. An MRI scan a few days later revealed the large tumour.

“I don’t think anybody really thinks to take their children for eye tests,” Sophie said.

“I don’t think I would have done unless she said to me she was seeing spots.”

She added regular eye checks should be as normal as going to the dentist or hairdressers.

Esmai had a “considerable” ependymoma growing in her brain and is now undergoing radiotherapy.

Her tumour was so big that the central line of her brain had shifted and was curved, her mum said.

“They’re quite astounded that she didn’t have any other difficulties. No headaches, no weight loss, no sickness, no learning troubles – nothing,” she said.

She added the discovery had made her fear for her daughter’s life.

“The first thing you think is that your child is going to die. I don’t think there are any words to describe [that feeling].”

In February, Esmai underwent seven hours of surgery to remove the tumour at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

She has now begun an intensive programme of radiotherapy at the Proton Beam Therapy Centre in Manchester.

This involves being pinned to a bed by a special mask before a high-energy beam of protons is sent through her brain, targeting any remaining cancerous cells.

Sophie, Esmai, and Sophie’s younger daughter Grace, aged two, have temporarily moved into hospital accommodation while Esmai’s treatment is ongoing.

Being away from home means that Sophie cannot work, and a friend has so far raised £3,000 to support her through a crowdfunding appeal.