Indyanna, 2, was walking strangely one day — a few weeks later, a brain scan revealed she had a tumour the size of a golf ball on her brain.
And while it took several weeks to reach that diagnosis, what came next happened very quickly — she was operated on that day, and now faces further surgery and a long road to recovery.
Close family friend Isabella Martin told 7NEWS.com.au the alarm bells first rang for mother Kathaleen Bray when Indyanna became very sleepy and had little appetite.
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“Her mum took her to get it checked out but was told it wasn’t anything to worry about and was sent home,” she said.
However, a few weeks later, Indyanna had lost control of the right-hand side of her body.
“It got to the point where her right leg wasn’t working … and she was tripping over all the time and dragging her leg on the ground,” Martin said.
Over the next few weeks, Indyanna was taken to the hospital emergency department a few times, however, her symptoms were generally disregarded.
In August, her mother then took her to a different doctor who became quite concerned and sent her off for urgent scans.
The scans would confirm the worst.
“They said there was a tumour the size of a golf ball on her brain,” Martin said.
The tumour would need to be removed that day.
Indyanna was flown to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead where she underwent six hours in surgery during which multiple bleeds were encountered and she was given blood transfusions.
“They didn’t think her body could handle much more, so the surgery was abandoned,” she said.
“They also had to leave part of the bone and scalp exposed due to swelling.”
Unfortunately, the surgery failed to remove all of the tumour.
“They had to wait for the swelling to go down and it was all very touch and go for 24 hours,” Martin said.
After a few days in ICU, Indyanna was moved to a ward where she was able to spend time with her family as she awaited further test results.
Since then, Indyanna has made some small improvements, however, a lot is still unknown.
“Indyanna is taking small steps in the right direction with some minimal movement (on the left side, which was functioning normal prior to surgery),” Martin said.
“She is putting up a good fight.”
Indyanna will need, at the very least, one more surgery.
Martin says Indyanna’s mum is navigating this difficult time while also caring for two other children.
“So that’s quite a juggle,” she said.
“She was beside herself. It’s very unexpected.”
Martin thanked everyone who has donated to a GoFundMe page she set up to support Indyanna’s family.
“While Indy is making steps in the right direction, it’s still a very long road ahead,” she said.
