The parents of a little girl who they believed may have a lazy eye have spoken out to raise awareness after the tot was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Harper Gibson had been exhibiting “tiny” symptoms that something was amiss this summer, and a video of the two-year-old with what appeared to be a lazy eye prompted her parents to take her to see an optician.
The eye test “changed everything”, and Harper was immediately referred to the hospital for further testing.
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Just two days later, she was undergoing a seven-hour surgery to remove a 1.5-square-inch tumour from her brain.
A biopsy confirmed her parents, George and Laura’s, worst fears, and Harper has been bravely facing gruelling treatment ever since.
“No parent is ever prepared for that moment,” George, from Staffordshire, told Need To Know of the day Harper was diagnosed.
“It’s a kind of pain that rips through you in silence.
“You want to scream, cry, do anything to take it away from them, but you can’t.
“That night, we both remember feeling like the world had stopped.
“Everything that used to matter suddenly meant nothing.”
In the weeks leading up to the diagnosis, at the beginning of July, Harper had been more tired than usual and wasn’t “quite herself”.
George said: “It was tiny things that, at first, didn’t seem like much.
“We made several trips to the GP and A&E, each time being told it was tonsillitis or an ear infection.
“She was given antibiotics, but nothing helped her symptoms.”
“Every visit ended the same way – reassurances that she’d be fine.
“But inside, we both knew something wasn’t right.
“It’s that instinct parents have; you know your child better than anyone, and we could feel something deeper was wrong.”
With Harper appearing to have a lazy eye, a family friend suggested they book her in to the opticians to rule anything else out.
George said, “That decision changed everything.
“The Specsavers team in Safford were incredible.
“They were calm but serious, and when the optician stopped the test halfway through and explained that something didn’t look right, everything changed.”
Within minutes, they were referred to a local hospital, where scans found a mass on Harper’s brain, with a large amount of fluid at the front.
The tot was quickly transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for specialist treatment, and within two days of the eye test, on 14 August, Harper was undergoing brain surgery.
George said, “Waiting through that surgery felt like a lifetime.
“You sit there as a parent, knowing there’s absolutely nothing you can do but hope.”
Thankfully, the operation was a success, and the staff’s care was a “lifeline” for the family.
A week after the operation to remove the mass, the family were back in the hospital for the results.
George said: “We heard the words that will stay with us forever: the tumour was cancerous.”
Harper was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer, which is treatable.
That week, Harper began chemotherapy treatment with the oncology team.
George said, “Before all of this, Harper was full of energy and mischief, a proper little character.
“She loves her doggy BearBear, dancing around the living room, and running circles around us.
“She was the kind of child who made everyone around her smile.
“To see that light fade, and to see her hooked up to machines and unable to play, is breaking us.
“You spend your life protecting your child from harm, then suddenly you’re powerless, watching them go through something no one should have to face.”
Since her diagnosis, Harper has been in “relentless” treatment in a bid to destroy the cancerous cells in her body.
George said, “Through it all, Harper keeps smiling.
“She finds joy in the smallest moments – a sticker from a nurse, bubbles from a play specialist, or just doing the best she can.
“Right now, Harper is stable and responding to treatment as well as anyone could hope.
“The team are positive, but they’ve also been honest – cancer is unpredictable.
“Every scan brings a mix of hope and fear.
“You learn to live from one day to the next.
“We’ve had to rebuild our lives around chemotherapy schedules, hospital stays, blood counts, and side effects.
“It’s hard to describe what this does to a family.
“You lose routine, sleep, work, and sometimes even a sense of who you were before it all began. “It’s barrage after barrage, never knowing when the next hit will come.
“But Harper’s spirit keeps pulling us through.
“Somehow, through all of it, Harper shines.
“She laughs, she plays, she loves.
“She’s taught us more about strength than we could ever teach her.”
Her parents have also commended the care they have received from the hospital staff throughout the ordeal.
George said, “Amongst all the fear, the team at Birmingham Children’s Hospital gave us something we desperately needed: hope.
“Their compassion, honesty and care reminded us that while we couldn’t control the illness, we weren’t alone in the fight.
“We owe everything to the Oncology team on Ward 18 – they’re extraordinary.
“Shivani, Eloise, Lukas, Jenny, and so many others have become like family.
“They’ve cried with us, laughed with us, and carried us.
“We’ll never forget the nurses on Ward 10 either, the team who looked after Harper after her surgery.
“They still pop in to check on her whenever they can – that kind of care goes beyond duty; it’s love.
“Cancer might have taken away a part of her childhood, but it’s also shown us a side of humanity we didn’t know existed.
“People who love, care, and fight for children like ours every single day.”
Family friends are currently fundraising to help support the Gibsons financially throughout Harper’s treatment, with a goal of £15,000.
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