Brace yourself because this story will break your heart. When Abigail Lightbown was 9 years old, her parents got worried because she was losing a lot of weight and getting sick every morning. Their doctor said she was suffering from stomach problems, prescribed some acid reflux medication, and sent her home. But the problems continued and her parents started suspecting that Abigail might be suffering from an eating disorder. "I know how some girls are these days seeing all the celebrities in magazines and on TV," Abigail's mother, Bernie, told the Daily Mail. Sadly, Abigail had a much bigger problem than wanting to look thin. She had a brain tumor.
As soon as she was diagnosed, she got operated to remove 95 percent of the cancerous tumor and started intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy for almost a year. But the cancer returned and this time it was deemed inoperable.
Abigail died on November 10 at the age of 11 and her devastated parents are now speaking out about what happened to their daughter in an effort to prevent other families going through the same ordeal. As a mom of two, I simply can't imagine how Abigail's parents have been able to continue on because I would've felt so incredibly guilty.
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I know that what happened wasn't their fault, but to think that they believed their daughter had an eating disorder for so long must make them feeling awful. In fact, his father Gary said this to the Daily Mail: "Given the time frame, it is possible it might not have spread if Abigail had had her operation earlier, but nobody will ever know."
And that's the most difficult thing to have to live with: the uncertainty. Would Abigail still be alive if they had believed her when she denied she had an eating disorder? Either way, the little girl, whom her parents described as never complaining about her illness, is gone now. But her death should push all parents to be more aware of brain tumors and to fight to get the right diagnosis when their children are sick.
Image via Gary Lightbown/Twitter
