Schoolgirl, 8, dies after sore throat turned out to be symptom of brain tumour

An eight-year-old schoolgirl who 'cared about everyone' has died after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Claudia Carrick first complained of a sore throat and difficulty swallowing on February 11. The little girl fell ill later that and was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

Whilst at the facility a scan revealed a build-up of fluid in her brain. During and operation the next day, doctors noticed she had a brain tumour.

Due to the position of the tumour, Claudia's mum Allison was told that it was inoperable.

On February 16, just five days after the child complained of a sore throat, Alison was told that the tumour – called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) – was incurable.

Claudia's auntie Jayne, 44, told the Liverpool ECHO : "The whole family can't process it. She had a few dips over her time and we kept thinking 'is this going to be the end now?'

"She did struggle towards the end. She had the death rattle which was just horrific. My sister would want to praise the High Dependency Unit at Alder Hey. They were really good with Claudia."

A death rattle is a distinctive sound that a person may make as they are coming to the end of their life and may no longer be able to swallow or cough effectively enough to clear their saliva, according to Healthline.

Claudia's illness was the first time she had spent any time away from her twin brother Robin, who the family said is her "soul mate."

DIPG is an aggressive, fast growing type of brain cancer which most commonly affects children.

The family, from Bootle in Liverpool, spent days at Claudia's bedside before her death.

Jayne described her niece has 'caring' and empathic' and said she would often share her pocket money with her brother and was the type of person to run to help whenever someone fell over.

Holding back tears as she spoke, Jayne said: "She was such a caring child. She cared about everyone. If she fell over or anything she would run over and make sure you were okay. She puts everyone before herself.

"If Robin would spend his pocket money and she had hers left she would split it with him. She was that kind of child. She was very empathic and caring with her nature."

Speaking to the ECHO previously, Jayne said Claudia's teacher Mr Dan Williams was the one who noticed the then-seven-year-old's symptoms on February 11 and phoned her mum, leading to the child getting medical care.

"They told us at the hospital if we hadn't brought her in then and we hadn't noticed, she could have gone into a coma in her bed – I couldn't even imagine that situation," Jayne said.

In the lead up to her death, Claudia drew up a bucket list which included things like going to the zoo and going in a limousine with her twin brother Robin.

The list also included Claudia's wish to be a bride for the day by dressing up in a white princess dress.

A Go Fund Me page was set up to help raise money for the family and allow them to make special memories together. It raised more than £27,000.

Source: Read Full Article