OUR LAST CHRISTMAS with Orla

A special charity helped Naomi Tuckwell make precious memories with her daughter

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When Orla was born, in December 2020, amid Covid lockdowns and restrictions, she brought our family so much light at a time when the world felt gloomy. Her big sisters Ava, then six, and Poppy, four, adored her, and her dad Adam, 38, and I nicknamed her 'Boss Baby', as she had us all wrapped around her little finger.

As Orla grew, she was playful, full of energy and such a happy little soul. Then after a holiday to Cyprus, in summer 2022, something changed. Within a week of being home, Orla, then 20 months, wasn't her usual whirlwind self. She was tired, unsteady on her feet and began bringing up little bits of sick.

Terrifying diagnosis

Over three weeks, we went back and forth to doctors and hospitals, but she only got worse, barely eating and struggling to walk. At the end of September, Orla was admitted to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow when her vitals suddenly dropped and doctors rushed her for a CT scan. I'll never forget the nurse's grave expression as she ushered me and Adam into a side room, where a consultant explained they'd found a mass and fluid on Orla's brain. He didn't say the word 'cancer' but we immediately knew.

Within the hour, Orla was being blue-lighted to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London and, by then, she was drifting in and out of sleep. At GOSH, we were told she needed urgent surgery to drain the fluid on her brain. We were terrified, but trusted the incredible team around her.