When 2-year-old Gracie Tudor started showing signs of illness, including a high fever and a loss of appetite, her mother Clair Tudor took her to the emergency room in Birmingham, England.
Doctors initially diagnosed her with constipation and sent her home with laxatives. However, when Gracie's condition didn't improve, her mother's persistence led to a devastating discovery.
In March 2023, Gracie had been unwell for nearly two weeks. She had a high fever, refused to eat, and hadn't gone to the bathroom.
Despite an initial visit to the emergency room, where doctors attributed her symptoms to constipation, Gracie's condition worsened.
Determined to get to the bottom of her daughter's illness, Clair insisted on further tests. An X-ray eventually revealed an almost eight-centimeter-long tumor in Gracie's liver. The diagnosis was neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that affects approximately 100 children in England each year.
This type of cancer often originates in the adrenal gland or abdomen and can spread to other parts of the body, including the liver, skin, bones, or bone marrow.
"The moment we heard the diagnosis, it was devastating," Clair Tudor told The Sun.
The family is now in a race against time to raise nearly £300,000 (about $364.000) for treatments available in the United States but not in England.
The urgency is heightened by the fact that neuroblastoma often recurs in patients under two years old, and if it does, the chances of survival are significantly lower.
The Tudor family is now focused on fundraising and spreading awareness about the importance of persistent advocacy for children's health. Clair's insistence on further tests may have saved her daughter's life, but the journey ahead is fraught with challenges and uncertainties.
