Relaxing with his young daughter on holiday, Paul Tierney could never have imagined the nightmare that was about to unfold.
The father-of-two took his children on a week-long family break to Mallorca last October. But within days of returning home, Paul received the news every parent dreads.
After his seven-year-old daughter Lottie suddenly fell ill, she was taken to hospital where doctors discovered she had a brain tumour. After further tests, Lottie was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma – a rare form of cancer that affects the bones and tissue around the bones.
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“There were no symptoms,” said Paul, from Middleton. “We were just in Mallorca having fun in the hot tub and a few days later someone tells you he has cancer. It was literally out of the blue.”
Paul, Lottie and her older brother Jake flew back to Manchester on October 31 last year. Two days later, Paul was at work when he received a worried WhatsApp message from Lottie’s mother Claire.
It included a video showing Lottie in pain and struggling to put weight on her left leg. Paul said he initially thought she might have suffered a pinched nerve.
But after Lottie was taken to A&E at Royal Oldham Hospital, doctors found a brain tumour. That afternoon she was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary and underwent further tests which confirmed she had a large tumour.
“You don’t believe what they tell you,” Paul said. “It’s like you’re not there.
“I don’t think anything can prepare you for it. It’s something you read about, but it never happens to you.”
Within days, Lottie underwent a seven-hour operation to remove the tumor. The surgery was initially considered a success, but a biopsy later revealed that the tumor found was malignant.
“It was like hitting another sledgehammer,” Paul said. “We were hoping it was a benign tumor, but it wasn’t.
Despite Lottie – now eight – continuing to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she has refused to let the grueling treatment affect her mood and is ‘smiling all the time’.
“He still has a lot of personality,” Paul said. “She’s incredible. She never complains. She’s fine in her own right, which makes her even harder to accept.”
Lottie – a pupil at Crompton Primary School in Shaw, Oldham – became famous among nurses for her love of Rudy’s Pizza during her hospital stay.
“That kept her going,” Paul said. “When she was being treated at The Christie, we were there once a week.
“People actually bought Rudy’s vouchers for us. They were so kind. We know times are tough, but people have been unbelievably generous.”
After being diagnosed with cancer, selfless Lottie managed to raise more than £2,000 for the Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs to children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.
Meanwhile, Paul has set up a JustGiving page to raise money for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Ward 86, where Lottie received treatment.
To help raise funds, Paul and a large group of friends will be taking part in a bike ride from Manchester to Blackpool and back in July.
He also won around £3,500 by raffling off a Manchester City shirt signed by Kevin De Bruyne. Lottie, Blue like her father, was delighted to receive a card from City boss Pep Guardiola as well as signed shirts from Bernard Silva and Jack Grealish.
Meanwhile, Lottie and Paul were also invited to attend City’s Premier League game against Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in January.
You can donate to the collection here.