A young Co Antrim girl who found out she had a brain tumour after falling down a few stairs is now helping others over a year after her diagnosis.
Maggie McMillan, 14, from Randalstown, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in October 2020 when she was 12, four days before her 13th birthday.
She had an operation to remove the tumour, later heading to Manchester for proton therapy for six weeks and then beginning chemotherapy in February 2021 which was completed back in October.
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The Co Antrim teen, who is the eldest of five girls in her family, said: “My diagnosis made me feel sad and cross. I didn’t want to be diagnosed anymore. I found it frustrating as I was able to walk into the hospital then after my operation, I had to rely on others to help as I was very wobbly."
Maggie's mum Helen has described the schoolgirl's bravery.
She told Be : "[Before her diagnosis] she had said to me that she had a pain in the back of her head. She said, 'It goes away as soon as it comes'.
"It went on and I rang the GP. They said it sounds like her school bag is too heavy and I thought 'definitely'... because you couldn't use lockers with Covid.
"I gave her [a painkiller] after I had rang the GP. Then her and her sister were walking down the stairs and Maggie sort of fell down the stairs, the two of them, it was only four steps and she hit her head on a stone wall on the bottom of the stairs.
"She cried, and that is not like Maggie. She has got a good pain threshold so I knew she was sore."
Maggie went on to play rugby that night with her mum telling her to be careful, but woke up the next morning saying she was still sore.
"Then she was sick... I rang the GP and they were happy enough with how she was and I kept her off that day.
"She went to school on the Friday and we went to our caravan at the weekend. On the Sunday she was sick again and I went into panic mode. I was like, 'Have I really missed something about a head injury?', Helen explained.
Maggie then went to the GP, who Helen says said it was not a head injury.
The mum-of-five was still worried the following week as her daughter was "quite wobbly on her feet", taking her back to the GP who referred her for tests and a scan the next day.
Helen added: "I got pulled into a side room and they said there was a tumour about 2.5cm at the back of her head. Try telling that to her.
"I went in and she was like, 'Is everything ok mummy?' How do you say, 'Actually no?' I just said, 'Look there's a lump at the back of your head so we are going to have to go to the Royal and you're going to have to get it taken out'.
"We went that night. As soon as she got the results we waited on an ambulance. She went for another scan the next day and then on the Sunday the surgeon came in on his day off - he was so good - to meet us and talk everything through.
"The Monday morning, it was removed and they managed to get it all. Then she spent two weeks in hospital just recovering from her operation. It was on the 12th of November, 2020.
"Her 13th birthday was the next day. She spent her birthday in intensive care not knowing a thing about it. Then we got the opportunity to go to Manchester for proton beam therapy."
This type of radiotherapy treatment lasted six weeks, with the family spending Christmas alongside Maggie in England.
Her chemotherapy started at the end of February and was completed on October 16, 2021.
Helen said: "Since the operation, Maggie stills sees a physio weekly who is amazing. She does it in the hydro pool. She also sees the occupational therapist weekly.
"She has done amazing, if you ask her how she is doing, she says 'I'm fine.' She really has done well and has started easing herself back into school, which is tough with the tiredness. But that is gradually getting better and you do see her getting stronger.
"The Cancer Fund for Children have been amazing."
Thanking all those who helped Maggie, Helen added: "I can definitely praise the hospital, doctors, nurses, I can not fault them in any way. Maggie definitely got the best treatment."
The young members of the Cancer Fund for Children’s Youth Advisory Group, including Maggie, have organised a mile long walk at Antrim Castle Gardens on March 19, inviting members of the public to wear uncomfortable shoes to make the task more difficult and reflect the challenge of living with cancer.
The group includes young people who have had a cancer diagnosis or who have a parent or sibling with cancer or others who have been bereaved as a result of cancer. Ranging in age from nine to 23, the group started in July with the aim of educating the public about the experiences of young people dealing with cancer.
Neil Symington, Director of Services for Cancer Fund for Children, said that one of the reasons the young people came up with the Mile in My Shoes event was to show a different side to children’s experiences of the disease.
“Everyone experiences cancer in a different way but children and young people often feel that their story isn’t really told. They talked openly about what a diagnosis meant to them and their families as well as the journey through treatment. They were keen to talk about how there were also good things during this time, for example they may have learned something new about themselves or may have got closer to their family.
“For the event, they are asking people to wear funny, ill-fitting shoes that will make walking quite painful but entertaining at the same time, which reflects their own experiences,” he explained.
Maggie added: “It’s a Mile in My Shoes because we’re asking people to wear uncomfortable shoes to symbolise how people walk an uncomfortable cancer journey. It was important for us to share our story so that the people can hear how Cancer Fund for Children helps us.
“I really enjoy being in the Youth Advisory Group. To be honest I only got involved because Helen, my Cancer Support Specialist from Cancer Fund for Children, messaged me and she said I should join it. I didn’t really know what it was, but I just agreed and thought 'Yeah, why not?'… but I’ve really enjoyed it.”
If you would like to attend the Mile in My Shoes event, find out more HERE.
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