One woman’s touching and riveting tale of the groundbreaking procedure her child went through

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I am so sorry I haven’t come back to see you in months,” Fionna told me with a weary look. “My back is doing much better with the physiotherapy, but the pain going down the leg is worse,” she drew a line with her little finger to explain where her sciatica spread. “What have you been doing recently that’s aggravating it?” I asked to identify some triggers, like therapists do. “I’ve had the most physically and emotionally draining 12 weeks of my life,” her eyes welled up. I handed her a tissue and asked if she’d like to talk about it.

“It’s my daughter Zoey,” she began. “She’s 10 years old and the love of my life. She’s curious, intelligent, kind, and has the gentlest heart.” When someone starts with a description like that, it immediately tells me that Zoey is facing something she doesn’t deserve. “I noticed a little discoloration on her belly and also found a small lump, measuring around 2 cm,” Fionna said, sizing it up with her index finger and thumb. The dermat said that he would have to remove it under general anaesthesia, concerned that it could be a malignancy. “It’s rough and firm and doesn’t look like something we can ignore,” he cautioned. He asked for a bunch of tests that are routinely performed before an operation and scheduled surgery within a few days.

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“The ECG and 2D echo showed up a cardiac........

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