Scots girl, 8, diagnosed with brain tumour after appointment at optician

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Scots family have praised hospital staff for their quick actions after an appointment at the optician led to their daughter being diagnosed with a brain tumour.Bryan McLachlan and his wife Dawn say their lives were "flipped upside down" by Rebekah's diagnosis at just eight years old.

It began when an optician spotted inflammation and swelling behind her eyes in May last year, reports Glasgow Live.Dad Bryan, 48, from Glasgow, said: "Rebekah was diagnosed with a brain tumour last May, that had come to light because she had some headaches and sickness so we took her to the optician who had identified inflammation and swelling behind her eyes."She was referred to the Children's Hospital in Glasgow as a consequence and then after running scans they discovered a mass in her brain - she was then admitted to hospital immediately and that night they performed a surgical procedure to drain the pressure from her brain."Rebekah, now nine years old, underwent a lengthy operation to remove the tumour which was located at the bottom rear of her brain.

She recovered for a short while in High Intensity before moving to a ward, staying in hospital for a further two weeks where her "bravery and resilience" remained unchanged.Rebekah was in a wheelchair whilst she "got herself back on her feet" but she slowly but surely started to gain independence with the help of physio and occupational therapists at Glasgow's Children's Hospital.A pathology test was done on Rebekah's tumour ten days after her surgery where specialists discovered it to be an Ependymoma - a form of cancer.

The wee girl was referred for radiotherapy treatment which was available in Manchester at the Christie Hospital.Bryan added: "Four weeks after Rebekah was discharged