Mother who thought five-year-old had heat stroke now hoping to make ‘precious Christmas memories’ after cancer diagnosis

A mother who thought her five-year-old had heat stroke before a devastating cancer diagnosis now hopes to make “precious Christmas memories” for her by transforming their home into a Santa’s Grotto.

Holly Brown, 31, a single stay-at-home mum from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, initially thought her daughter, Olivia, was suffering from heat stroke in May 2024 after she began vomiting in the hot weather.

By June, Olivia was being sick everyday, so Holly took her to A&E where she was diagnosed with grade 3 medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain tumour that later spread to her spine.

Holly faced the devastating choice between Olivia having chemotherapy, offering a 30% survival rate, or combining it with radiotherapy for a 50% chance – but with risks of future learning difficulties.

She decided to go with the latter, and since having treatment, Olivia has lost her hair. But Holly believes she has taken the news “quite well” – although her future is uncertain. The family will receive an update on the tumour at Olivia’s next scan on December 4.

Supporting Olivia and breaking the news to her other children, Lilly, 12, Mason, seven, and Sonny, three, has been incredibly challenging for Holly – but she is determined to make precious memories with her by fundraising to turn their home into a Santa’s Grotto for Christmas.

Holly told PA Real Life: “Most of the time I just try and hold it together, because you’ve got no choice, really, you just have to get on with it.

“I can’t fall apart because my kids rely on me to be the strong one.

“There are moments where I sit and think about everything and go off and have a secret cry but I’m just doing what I’ve got to do for Olivia.

“I want Christmas to be extra special for all of the children this year.”

In May, Olivia began vomiting, which Holly initially assumed was heat stroke due to the hot weather.

However, by June, Olivia was vomiting every day and feeling extremely tired.

So, on June 17, Holly took her to A&E, where doctors also noticed Olivia was “wobbly on her feet” and her eyes were “quite squinty”, with one appearing “lopsided”, so she was admitted overnight for further tests.

On June 18, an MRI sadly revealed Olivia had a brain tumour.

Sobbing, Holly said: “I burst out crying, I was just devastated.”

That same day, Olivia underwent emergency surgery to fit an external ventricular drainage system to relieve a blockage preventing her spinal fluid from draining.

On June 21, Olivia had an eight-hour operation to remove 95% of the tumour, but the remaining 5% was too close to the brain to remove without causing damage.

A week later, doctors informed Holly that Olivia had grade 3 medulloblastoma, the most aggressive form of the disease, which often originates in embryonic tissue and is typically diagnosed within the first five years of life, according to Brain Tumour Research.

They also unfortunately informed her that the cancer had spread to her spine.

Holly cried: “I was just so worried, I didn’t know what was going to happen.

“I didn’t know if she would survive.”

Holly, who has been a stay-at-home mum for several years, struggled to explain the situation to her three other children, who were used to having her around for support all of the time.

“It was heartbreaking, telling them the news,” she said.

“I think my eldest is probably taking it the hardest, because she understands a lot more than the others, so she can be quite withdrawn, but I’ve just been trying my hardest to reassure her and let her know she can talk to me.”

Holly chose a treatment plan for Olivia combining chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which offered a 50% survival rate but came with the risk of future learning difficulties, compared to a 30% chance with chemotherapy alone.

Holly explained: “We had to think about her quality of life.

“They (doctors) said chemo and radiotherapy could lower her IQ and she would most likely end up with learning difficulties, it was such an impossible decision to make.”

Throughout this period, Holly found it difficult to know what to say to Olivia about her condition.

“Olivia gets quite upset at times, which is understandable with everything she’s been through,” Holly added.

“She does get a little bit scared when she has to do things but overall, she’s taken it quite well.

“I tell her as much as I can do, age appropriately, in a way that she’ll understand.

“I don’t go into too much detail, but I told her, she’s got cancer, and she’s got to have some treatments to make her better, and it will take quite a while, that’s all I can do, really.”

In August, Olivia underwent two five-day rounds of chemotherapy, during which she lost her hair.

“She took it quite well, really, we got given a children’s book by the hospital that explains chemotherapy, I think that helped with easing her mind,” Holly explained.

“She was a little bit upset about what happened, but when it happened, I think probably because she’s young, she doesn’t really mind too much.

“I collected her hair, I kept it. I think maybe that helped and I’ve told her that it will grow back.”

Between the two rounds, doctors told Holly that the brain tumour had shrunk, but its exact size and the status of cancer in her spine remained unclear due to fluid build up.

In September, Olivia had six weeks of proton beam therapy, a type of radiotherapy that uses high-energy protons to treat cancer, as part of a clinical trial.

After radiotherapy, Olivia suffered from sore, flaky skin, and had extreme nausea and sickness – as a result, she had to be tube fed for several weeks.

Olivia’s medical team has scheduled another scan for December 4 to reassess the tumour and will begin six to nine months of further chemotherapy on December 9.

Until then, the family are uncertain about what lies ahead.

Holly said: “The hardest part is not knowing, it feels like everything is up in the air with it.”

Determined to make the most of Christmas, Holly and her mother, Amanda, set up a GoFundMe to transform Holly’s home into a Santa’s Grotto for December.

“We don’t really know how well she’s going to be because she’ll be having chemo in December, so it’s not a good idea to try and take her out anywhere,” Holly explained.

“So we just wanted to kind of make it the best we can at home – just fill the house with decorations, make it sort of like a Santa’s grotto.

“We want some precious Christmas memories.”

Looking back on the past year, Holly thinks her experience has made her appreciate her family even more.

Holly said: “I think about things that used to upset me – now, it doesn’t matter.

“None of that mattered, the most important things are your family and health and appreciating what you’ve got.”

To donate for Olivia’s Christmas grotto go to: www.gofundme.com/f/give-olivia-and-her-siblings-the-best-christmas.