A schoolgirl who was told she might be suffering with a “virus” is now bedridden with a rare brain tumour.
Amelia Bogusz, 12, who lives in Wendesbury near Walsall, was thought first to have a “viral infection” after she began suffering headaches and became sensitive to lights and loud noises.
The youngster had “stopped doing everything” and teachers were increasingly calling home as she complained about headaches.
She then began vomiting and went to hospital for the first time, BirminghamLive reports.
However, it was not until a few days later, when Amelia developed double vision, that it was suggested she have a CT scan and she was rushed to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The scan revealed the 12-year-old had a large craniopharyngioma brain tumour - a rare, non-cancerous tumour.
Amelia was left unable to walk because of the disease and in need of constant care, leaving her mum Anita Bogusz, heartbroken.
Anita had first noticed something was wrong with her daughter last year. She said: "Last year in August, we were visiting family in Poland and she looked tired all the time and was unhappy.
"She was usually active, so it was unlike her – she stopped doing everything.
"She started a new school when we returned to the UK and the teachers would call me all the time to pick her up because she had a headache.
"She was sensitive to light and sounds, too."
Anita knew something was seriously wrong when her daughter began complaining about double vision.
She added: "Her eyes started to go cross-eyed when I saw this she started crying and said that she could see two of me.
"That is when they sent her for a CT scan, which showed a huge tumour.
"We stayed in the hospital from October until July this year. She wasn’t allowed visitors because of Covid so it was only me and her dad, Andrzej, taking turns being with her."
After the diagnosis, Amelia underwent eight operations and a number of sessions of radiotherapy.
She developed multiple infections and suffered damage to her brain, because of the tumour, which caused her to lose mobility in her left side.
Anita has set up a GoFundMe in the hopes of taking her daughter to Europe to receive alternative help
She said: "She seemed to have a thousand infections and needed so many antibiotics.
"After her first operation, she developed clots and her brain swelled and she can no longer move very easily.
"She has NHS physiotherapy every two weeks which isn’t enough so we're trying to raise money to get her private help.
"There are other hospitals in Europe which we think might be able to help her."
"Amelia is so sad now, it breaks my heart and I just want to try to get her better."
You can donate to the GoFundMe page here.
