Tiny Nail Infection Leads to Baby Joey's Brain Tumor Diagnosis! 💔

A mother has shared the harrowing ordeal of her son's battle with a brain tumour, discovered just 11 days after his birth, all thanks to a tiny fingernail infection that prompted doctors to investigate further. Sam Sharp, 39, recounted the traumatic experience of her son, Joey, born in 2020, whose early life was marked by an unforeseen fight for survival. Joey was brought to the hospital from Penicuik, Midlothian, when he was just 11 days old.

He was struggling to feed, losing weight rapidly, and suffering from persistent jaundice. Adding to the family's concern, Joey also began exhibiting intermittent twitching. While investigating these symptoms, doctors noticed a minute infection on one of his fingernails, an almost imperceptible detail, described by Ms.

Sharp as "like a grain of sand under the nail." This seemingly minor observation proved to be critical. Ms. Sharp, an orthopaedic nurse, described the early days:

Joey had only been home for a week and we were having visits from the midwife and health visitor every day because his newborn jaundice wasn't improving, he wasn't feeding well and he'd started losing weight.

She added, "He was also having tiny spasms while feeding but, at the time, the midwives couldn't quite work out what was causing them." The discovery of the nail infection led to an ultrasound, which shockingly revealed a brain tumour as the cause of all his symptoms.

The diagnosis plunged the family into what Ms. Sharp called "every parent's worst nightmare." Joey underwent an arduous treatment regimen, including three brain surgeries, two to remove the tumour and a third to address scar tissue preventing medication from controlling his seizures.

He also endured nine rounds of chemotherapy.

During this intense period, Joey faced immense challenges, suffering from over 30 epileptic seizures daily and requiring feeding tubes to sustain him. His journey also involved participation in clinical trials, contributing vital research to improve chemotherapy treatments for infants facing similar diagnoses.

#BrainTumorAwareness #BabyWarrior #PediatricCancer