Usually cheeky and bright, Daisy Nicholls, 2, is in an induced coma after a fall from a swing at kindy led to the discovery of a brain tumour "the size of an adult fist".
Usually cheeky and bright, Daisy Nicholls, 2, is in an induced coma after a fall from a swing at kindy led to the discovery of a brain tumour "the size of an adult fist".
A 2-year-old girl is fighting for her life after a fall at kindy led to the discovery of a tumour the size of an adult fist pressing on her brain stem.
Daisy Nicholls is in an induced coma after doctors performed emergency surgery this week to relieve pressure and stop the bleed.
Her parents Riss Beckham and Ray Nicholls said the news was “a complete shock” and apart from a couple of recent headaches, Daisy had been her “bubbly cheeky little self”.
The little Northland girl fell from a swing at Parihaka Kindergarten in Whangārei about 9am on Tuesday. When Daisy became “dozy”, kindy staff called her mother Riss at work about 9.25am and asked her to collect Daisy.
Usually cheeky and bubbly Daisy, 2, is fighting for her life after the discovery of a large tumour on the right side of her brain.
“I got to kindy and she was quite unresponsive but she managed to acknowledge me,” Riss said.
When Riss arrived staff had called an ambulance but after a 20-minute wait, the kindy was informed there was a backlog and it could take another hour for help to arrive.
“At that stage she was unresponsive so I made the decision to pack her up and drive her in the truck to the hospital myself.”
When the pair arrived at Whangārei Hospital, Daisy was rushed to the emergency department for tests.
“Within a minute there were 11-12 hospital staff around her,” Riss said. “They were so quick to whisk her away and within 20 minutes they had found a large tumour in her brain.”
Daisy was immediately transferred by helicopter to Starship children’s hospital in Auckland, where she had emergency surgery.
Daisy is in an induced coma at Starship children's hospital in Auckland after emergency surgery.
Specialists at Starship found a tumour “the size of an adult fist” had been crushing Daisy’s brain stem and caused a bleed, which then caused the fall, Riss said.
“They removed a large part of her skull to relieve the pressure and removed part of the brain damaged by the tumour to get to it, but unfortunately they weren’t able to remove much of the tumour.
“They’ve been able to relieve the pressure to keep her alive.”
Due to the swelling, specialists haven’t been able to get a clear image of the tumour but have told Riss and Ray it is on the right side, towards the back and is significant in size.
“She’s not in any pain and they have made her comfortable and we are comforted that she is in the best hands,” Riss said.
“We are just happy we are here to help her fight this crazy thing.”
The couple, who have three other children between them, said the news was a complete shock.
Daisy Nicholls had been complaining of headaches in the weeks leading up to the discovery of the brain tumour.
“We’ve been thinking back and the only thing she was complaining of was headaches every now and again,” Riss said.
“Our little Daisy is very cheeky and she’s a ‘my way or the highway’ kind of girl,” Riss said.
“It is amazing to see how many lives such a young person has impacted, she brings light to the room.
“We are feeling the love from all of those people right now.”
Family friends had set up a Givealittle page to help relieve financial pressures and so Riss and Ray can remain by Daisy’s side.
Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with more than 20 years’ experience in New Zealand newsrooms. She has covered everything from crime and social issues to the property market and has a current focus on consumer affairs.
