McComb and Declan’s father then drove him to Wellington Hospital for an MRI at the doctor’s recommendation.
Medical staff carried out an ultrasound and found there was excess fluid on his brain, so he underwent an MRI.
“They came back later that night and said it was a brain tumour roughly 4cm x 4cm,” McComb said.
She later learned it was Choroid Plexus Papilloma – a rare brain tumour located on a network of blood vessels in each ventricle of the brain, which increases cerebrospinal fluid production.
Declan was flown to Starship Hospital in Auckland on the first weekend of November, where doctors decided to insert a shunt to drain the excess fluid and take the pressure off his brain.
Following that procedure, doctors decided Declan should undergo a five-day round of chemotherapy to attempt to shrink the tumour enough for it to be removed.
A 4cm tumour was discovered in Declan’s brain after an MRI at Wellington Hospital. Give a Little
“He had his first round of chemotherapy and has to stay in Starship so they can keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t have any side effects,” McComb said.
She told the Herald the whole process had left her numb.
“I’m in flight mode. Being in a home and looking at an empty bassinet where my baby should be sleeping breaks me,” she said.
“I know bad things happen, but I just don’t understand how bad things can happen to good people. You think, ‘Why me?’. It’s all about trying to stay strong.”
McComb said she wished she could swap places with him.
“He’s like a pincushion, getting needles and blood tested,” she said.
“It just breaks you. He hasn’t even started his life yet.”
McComb said Declan remained a happy baby despite horrible circumstances.
“He would never cry. He would moan and whine, but never scream,” she said.
“He would be laughing and smiling at his shows on TV. He’s getting all the attention at Starship. All the nurses are fighting over him.”
McComb implored new parents to check their newborns’ fontanelles for any signs of abnormality.
“Nobody knows your babies better than yourselves, but when you’re with your babies day in day out, some of those small things other people notice, you don’t,” she said.
“It’s something you need to get checked, even with your Plunket nurse or even with your GPs. There is no harm in getting it checked.”
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