Newborns may experience several health issues during the first few months of their lives. Determining the cause of distress is crucial for a variety of conditions, including gastrointestinal issues, cystitis, rashes, allergies, and more, but doctors do not always get it right the first time. A 6-month-old baby tragically passed away after a brain tumor was misdiagnosed as a milk allergy and teething.
On October 18, 2021, Louie Moss, a resident of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK, was born. By the time he was four months old, he had not gained weight and was throwing up a lot, and the physicians were having trouble explaining his symptoms. Louie tragically passed away from a brain tumor two months later.
Doctors misdiagnosed Louie’s symptoms as common conditions.
According to Louie’s parents, Robert and Molly, the physicians initially attributed his symptoms to a potential dairy allergy, as reported by the Daily Mail. The infant’s illness worsened despite the parents giving him a prescription antibiotic and switching him to a milk substitute. Doctors reportedly remarked, “They would never seen anything like it,” guessing that he might have had a cold or be teething.
Eventually, testing revealed the brain tumor.
Louie had a high white blood cell count, as revealed by a lumbar puncture. Then, according to The Mirror, a brain tumor was discovered by a CT scan. The baby had emergency surgery to remove fluid from his brain after going into cardiac arrest. More than 80% of the tumor was removed in a second operation, but two weeks later it returned to its previous size.
His parents made an impossible decision — and their baby died from his brain tumor weeks later.
Doctors told Robert and Molly that Louie “only had weeks to live.”
“We were given the option to try chemotherapy but were advised that ultimately, Louie’s diagnosis was terminal,” Robert explained, according to the Daily Mail.
“We felt like we were fighting a hopeless war when we put a baby through chemotherapy and saw how persistent his tumor was. It was a really horrific event, and it is a decision you never expect to have to make as a parent.
Louie died in April 2022.
Now, Louie’s dad is running the London Marathon to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.
Robert is getting ready to run the London Marathon almost three years after Louie’s passing. In the process, he is generating funds for research into brain tumors.
“This challenge is a “go big or go home” situation. I wanted to honor Louie’s life in a way that was appropriate for me and a challenge,” he said. “I run because I want to make sure that a patient has every chance to have a good outcome when they are diagnosed in the future.”
Brain tumors kill more children than leukemia.
Carol Robertson, the national events manager for Brain Tumour Research, offered insight into brain tumors in children.
According to The Mirror, she said, “There are more than 100 different types of brain tumors, making them infamously tough to discover effective treatments for.” Brain tumors kill more children than leukemia. “We are motivated to alter that, but we can only improve patient treatment options and, eventually, a cure, by working together.”