‘Beautiful, kind, funny, perfect little girl’ rings bell after cancer battle

In November 2023, mum Kirsty and dad Paul Parkes received the news no parents want to hear, their ‘beautiful, kind, funny, perfect little girl’ had cancer.

Olivia was just 20 months old when her parents thought she was suffering with severe constipation. She was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital after attending urgent care at Whitegate Drive Health Centre. The doctor there, the family say, “undoubtedly saved Olivia's life.”

A couple of days later, and after numerous scans and tests, a doctor gave the family the devastating news that they had detected a mass in Olivia's abdomen and she was being transferred to the Oncology Ward at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital that night.

Olivia went on to have a total of six rounds of aggressive chemotherapy which made her very poorly but has thankfully reduced the size of her tumour. Mum Kirsty said, “Olivia spent a lot of time in the Children's Ward at Blackpool as an inpatient after every round of chemo. We are eternally grateful for the incredible teams at Blackpool hospital for identifying the tumour early and then providing ongoing care throughout the treatment.

“This includes the doctors and nurses who showed much-needed compassion on the day the tumour was found. The nurses who cared for us when we were spending weeks at a time on the Children's Ward when Olivia had temperatures and neutropenia. The amazing play nurses who went out of their way to put a smile on our baby's face every day. And finally, the Community Nurses who genuinely felt like family coming to our home.”

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM), and every day in the UK, 10 children and young people will receive the devastating news that they have cancer. Olivia has now finished her treatment. Although the tumour will stay with her as a permanent fixture, it is not growing and is not a threat to her and she will continue to be monitored every three months.

Childhood cancer awareness month reminds us of the bravery, enormous amount of fight and spirit children and young people display and the impact cancer can have on them and their support network around them. On Saturday, 24 August Olivia rang the bell on Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s Children’s Ward surrounded by her medical team and family.

Olivia now continues to live her life as a happy two-year-old painting, watching Bluey on television and ‘chattering away.’