TRAGEDY
‘Little firecracker’ girl, 5, given 12 months to live after laughing and sneezing left her rolling in pain on the floor
The tot's parents knew something was wrong when her eye 'pinged' in the wrong direction
A FIVE-year-old girl, described as a "little firecracker" by her parents, was given just 12 months to live after laughing and sneezing left her "rolling about in pain on the floor".
"Bubbly" Rosie Hassall started experiencing extreme headaches and strange eye movements in November 2024.
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Doctors told parents Charlotte and Stefan, both 36, from Cheshire, that that tot may be suffering from migraines, as they ran in the family.
But the tot's head pains worsened to the point it was too painful for her to laugh, sneeze or even cry.
An eye test revealed suspected nerve damage in Rosie’s left eye and the five-year-old was eventually referred for an MRI scan.
Three days before Christmas, Rosie was diagnosed with an ultra-rare brain tumour the size of a kiwi.
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After a biopsy, the couple were told it was cancerous, inoperable and incredibly “aggressive”, with doctors estimating it had grown within a matter of days or weeks.
Rosie's devastated parents were told that the average prognosis for her type of cancer is nine to 12 months - but the disease is so rare that doctors couldn't be certain.
Charlotte and Stefan cling to the hope that Rosie will defy the odds and "prove doctors wrong".
“Rosie is a fighter, we can see how much she has fought since she’s had this and I’m hoping that she proves them wrong and they can learn off her,” the mum said.
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The family's ordeal began in November 2024, when the tot started complaining of pains in her head.
“We didn’t think anything of it at first but over the next few days, the pain got worse,” Charlotte said.
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“We were having tea one night and she said she’d learnt to go cross-eyed but her left eye actually pinged the other way.
“That’s when we realised something had happened.”
Charlotte took Rosie for a doctor’s appointment, where it was thought she could be experiencing migraines – a condition running in both sides of the family.
She also visited an opticians, but specialists said both her eye and vision looked normal.
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Rosie then started to become “really unwell” and the family took her to Leighton Hospital in Cheshire, where she was prescribed with antibiotics after doctors found white spots on her throat – but Charlotte said she “never really picked up from there”.
“She had 27 episodes of this pain in her head and the doctors were a little bit stumped about what it could be,” she said, adding they were also advised to give Rosie Calpol to help with the pain.
“She was just so poorly, rolling about in pain on the floor, she was really uncomfortable and really quite stressed out.
“She tried to cry but it was so painful, she couldn’t laugh or sneeze because it hurt.”
'New entity'
After seeking a second eye test from Specsavers, it was thought Rosie had suspected nerve damage in her left eye and she was referred to an ophthalmologist.
Rosie was then sent for an MRI scan at Leighton Hospital on December 19.
The family received the results of the scan on December 22, which revealed a six centimetre tumour in her brain.
“Everything just stops, everything goes quiet,” Charlotte recalled.
“I argued with them at the time and said they’re wrong because they’ve only done one scan, they can’t surely be right off one scan.”
Rosie underwent an MRI scan with contrast – where a dye is injected to make tissues and blood vessels show up more clearly – before the family were referred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and the presence of the tumour was confirmed.
On January 26, the family received Rosie’s official diagnosis, which was a “new entity” of a paediatric bithalamic glioma.
Bithalamic gliomas are incredibly rare tumours which make up less than 1 per cent of brain tumour diagnoses, according to Brain Tumour Research.
“We were told from the start it was inoperable because of where the tumour sits, we were told it was a very aggressive tumour,” Stefan said.
Charlotte added: “They said it was literally a matter of days or weeks that it could have happened and grown quite quickly because the symptoms just came on.
“Even though she has a paediatric bithalamic glioma, it’s a new entity, it’s a very rare form of cancer that she’s got – when you Google it, there’s not much you can find.”
'Tough cookie'
Rosie underwent radiotherapy and is now having chemotherapy.
She will have scans every three months to monitor the growth of the tumour.
The family were informed the average prognosis for bithalamic gliomas is between nine and 12 months, but they remain positive as they know Rosie is “a fighter”.
“Rosie is incredible and she’s just tried to carry on as much as she can, she’s such a tough cookie,” Charlotte said.
They hope by sharing Rosie’s journey, others will benefit from further research and information.
“If anyone knows anything more about her cancer, we can learn from it and help other families as well,” Charlotte said.
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The family have launched for support as Charlotte and Stefan have taken time off work to care for Rosie and help her enjoy the days she has away from hospital, raising over £33,000.
To find out more, visit the fundraiser for the family .
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