Hamza Ibrahim, from Adelaide , was just like any other schoolboy, but earlier this year he started experiencing headaches, nausea and general clumsiness. Photo / GoFundMe
Hamza Ibrahim, from Adelaide , was just like any other schoolboy, but earlier this year he started experiencing headaches, nausea and general clumsiness. Photo / GoFundMe
An 8-year-old Australian boy has uttered three heartbreaking words after doctors revealed a medical blunder will mean he’ll never see again.
Hamza Ibraham enjoyed going to school and living a normal life.
But earlier this year he started experiencing headaches, nausea and general clumsiness.
Worried at the development, his mother Jessica took him to two doctors who dismissed the symptoms. Hamza then alarmingly started to lose vision and struggled to walk in a straight line.
“In the back of my head I was thinking why don’t we do a CT scan, but you trust the doctor’s opinion,” she told 7 News.
“I would be like [to him], ‘maybe you need to drink water, you’re dehydrated, maybe you need to get off your iPad’, just normal troubleshooting things as a parent that you do.”
Just months later the vomiting started, and his school contacted Jessica over their concern for Hamza following noticeable change to his health.
“It wasn’t until the school called me and said, ‘your son is not safe at school, you need to come and get him’ [that] I took to him a third GP who suggested I take him to a hospital and within six hours we had a diagnosis.
“I thought this was a nightmare, and I was in total disbelief.”
Hamza was diagnosed with a five -centimetre pilocytic astrocytoma brain tumour. Photo / GoFundMe
Hamza was diagnosed with a 5cm brain tumour that caused fluid build-up and pressure, damaging the nerves and affecting his eyesight.
To add to Hamza’s devastating news, he was then informed he would not regain his sight again.
That’s when he issued three heartbreaking words to his mother, saying there was “no point living” following the life-changing diagnosis.
“Yesterday he said to me, he thought there was no point in living if he couldn’t see,’ his mother, Jessica told 7News.
“He says things like ‘I feel sad I’ll never see your face again’.”
Jessica, who is a single mother to seven children, explained that he was a “really happy boy” before the devastating diagnosis.
Now he’ll need to leave the school and friends he loves to attend the South Australian School for the Vision Impaired once he’s recovered from the surgery to remove the tumour.
Jessica is now campaigning for doctors to do further training on identifying the symptoms of tumours and to trust concerned parents’ gut instincts.
“I don’t want this to happen to another child. It’s devastating,” she said.
His mother, Jessica (pictured with Hamza), said there were subtle symptoms in the months leading up to his devastating diagnosis, including random headaches, nausea and general clumsiness, that were difficult to spot. Photo / GoFundMe
Hamza’s neurosurgeon told Jessica that it wasn’t uncommon for brain tumours to go undetected, with another young patient going to the GP nine times before being properly diagnosed.
In a GoFundMe post, Hamza’s family said he will now need fulltime care and assistance with the simplest of daily tasks.
“As a result, he requires fulltime care, and daily assistance with simple tasks such as showering, dressing, walking, eating, and even playing with his little sisters. Sadly, he can no longer enjoy the activities that brought him so much joy before the diagnosis, like reading his favourite Harry Potter books, watching movies, going to school and playing basketball with his friends.”
Despite the initial shock to his devastating diagnosis, Jessica said they are getting through the grieving process and are both excited to create new experiences, opportunities and memories together as he navigates the world a little differently.
“He’s just been so strong, and I always tell him how strong he is and how brave he is.”
