Three-year-old learning to live with brain tumour

Elsi was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2022

The mother of a three-year-old whose earache led to a brain tumour diagnosis has spoken about how they are learning to live with the condition.

Elsi, from Llanrug in Gwynedd, had 80% of her non-cancerous tumour removed, but the location in her head means doctors cannot remove it all.

With her mother Eleri and sister Lowri, Elsi is raising awareness for Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

According to The Brain Tumour Charity, more done needs to be done to tackle the condition.

'Everything changed'

Elsi was two years old when she started complaining of an earache.

Following tests at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, and a CT scan, the doctors discovered that Elsi had a tumour.

"I heard the words no parent wants to hear - 'we're very sorry, your daughter has a brain tumour'," said Eleri.

Elsi was taken to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool for treatment to try to remove the tumour.

She then had a second operation following complications including an illness called hydrocephalus, which is excess fluid in the brain.

She also needed a shunt, a thin tube placed in her brain, to get rid of the extra fluid to her stomach, and had a third operation.

Lowri, Eleri and Elsi

"When we first went we were expecting a week or two stay (in hospital), but the complications arose, and we ended up there for three months continuously, and then back and forth," said Eleri.

"It was difficult as a family - being away from our other daughter, Lowri, who was at the time six years old, and explaining to Lowri that Mum and Elsi weren't going to be living in Llanrug. It was hard on her as well."

Despite support from family, friends and colleagues, it was difficult to come to terms with.

"What I thought would be a few weeks turned into a few months - it changed everything," said Eleri.

Eleri and Elsi in hospital

Elsi is now back home in Llanrug with her family.

She goes for check-ups every three months at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool. The care was described as "fantastic" by Eleri.

"Our main hope is that everything stays stable for now, she gets routine scans that monitor the tumour and her other condition as well, and eventually, she gets to live her life like any other three-year-old," she said.

Eleri hopes that the condition does not define Elsi.

"It is something she will live with for the rest of her life," she said.