{"id":17161,"date":"2025-07-23T05:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/17161\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T05:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:17:10","slug":"my-babys-bruise-was-dismissed-as-a-birthmark-only-for-a-tumour-to-engulf-her-face-i-want-to-warn-all-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/17161\/","title":{"rendered":"My baby\u2019s bruise was dismissed as a birthmark only for a tumour to engulf her face – I want to warn all parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

AT first, doctors dismissed the growing mark on Natalie Brooks\u2019 newborn baby Bront\u00eb\u2019s ear as nothing more than a birthmark.<\/p>\n

What began in November 2024 as a flat, pale blemish<\/a> about an inch wide soon started to protrude, eventually pushing the little girl’s ear out by two to three inches and engulfing her tiny face.<\/p>\n

\"Baby<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Eight-month-old Bront\u00eb Brooks after her ear ballooned from the tumourCredit: Kennedy News\"Close-up<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

The bruise on eight-month-old Bront\u00eb Brooks\u2019s ear after the tumour grewCredit: Kennedy News\"Infant<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

The baby girl spent six weeks in hospitalCredit: Kennedy News<\/p>\n

The mum-of-three said she “knew something was wrong” as her daughter cried non-stop and refused to feed, but was reassured by doctors it was nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would never have expected it to turn out like this,” the 29-year-old from Accrington, Lancashire<\/a>, said.<\/p>\n

“It literally just looked like a little bruise next to her ear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bront\u00eb, now eight months old, was eventually diagnosed with kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) \u2013 a rare, aggressive vascular tumour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The baby girl spent six weeks in hospital and has since developed Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP), a life-threatening condition that stops her blood from clotting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tumour is benign, it\u2019s not cancerous, but she still might need chemotherapy,” Natalie added. <\/p>\n

“It can be life-threatening if it\u2019s not managed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She first noticed the blemish when Bront\u00eb was just two weeks old.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom about two weeks of age it appeared and it was just a little bruise and as the weeks went on, we noticed that it never actually went,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was flat and very light in colour. Slowly over the months it started to get slightly bigger.<\/p>\n

A mum dismissed her twitching eye as stress until discovering it was a rare brain tumour <\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to the doctors and they just confirmed it was a birthmark so we came away and carried on.\u201d<\/p>\n

But by January, the lump was darker, hotter, and growing fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started to get darker and started to protrude out and get quite big,\u201d said Natalie.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the day she was born she was hysterical nearly every day. There was nothing we could do to calm her down.<\/p>\n

“I know every baby cries but this was just relentless. She wouldn’t stop crying for about three or four hours non-stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe’d refuse her feed and never finish a full bottle. She was awake every hour through the night. She was very restless and I never got a break.<\/p>\n

\"Baby's<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

The ‘little bruise’ 29-year-old Natalie Brooks first spotted on baby Bront\u00eb’s earCredit: Kennedy News\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

‘I knew something wasn’t right but I didn’t know what,’ the mum saysCredit: Kennedy News\"Baby<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Doctors told said the tumour would have been ‘excruciatingly painful’Credit: Kennedy News<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew something wasn’t right but I didn’t know what.\u201d<\/p>\n

After pushing for tests, Natalie was told Bront\u00eb would need an MRI<\/a> in five weeks. <\/p>\n

By May, the mark was growing so quickly that Natalie took Bront\u00eb to hospital herself. <\/p>\n

There, an MRI was done, and the tumour was finally diagnosed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family were saying I couldn’t leave it that long as it was getting so aggressive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very hot to touch. It was very purple and looked angry. It was swollen and it was protruding and pushing her ear out. <\/p>\n

“It was behind her ear in a full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doctors told her the tumour would have been \u201cexcruciatingly painful\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The diagnosis] was shocking. It’s flipped our world upside down to be honest. It’s crazy because it’s super rare.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never think becoming a parent of having this in your lifetime. <\/p>\n

“You never imagine being in the hospital for a long time and having a poorly baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

On medication for life <\/p>\n

Bront\u00eb was discharged after six weeks, but just ten days later Natalie spotted it growing again. <\/p>\n

Tests confirmed her daughter now had KMP and her medication wasn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can reverse that with medications but the tumour that she has gives her body really low platelet levels so her blood actually can’t clot,\u201d Natalie explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can now because she’s had transfusions\u2026 but we were also informed that this tumour will never actually go.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just managed by medication \u2013 and they can’t tell us how long she will be on it for, it could potentially be for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natalie has set up a GoFundMe<\/a> to help support the family as her maternity pay ends soon and she can\u2019t return to work in September.<\/p>\n

What is KHE?<\/p>\n

Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a very rare tumour that forms from blood vessels, usually in babies and young children.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not cancer, but it can still be aggressive, painful, and dangerous.<\/p>\n

The tumour typically appears in the skin, deep tissue or muscle and can cause swelling, redness and discomfort.<\/p>\n

What causes it?<\/p>\n

Doctors don\u2019t know exactly why KHE happens. It\u2019s not inherited and isn\u2019t caused by anything the parents did.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed to be a random overgrowth of abnormal blood vessel cells, often starting shortly after birth.<\/p>\n

What are the risks?<\/p>\n

Around 70% of cases can lead to a serious complication called Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP).<\/p>\n

This causes a big drop in platelets, meaning the blood can\u2019t clot properly \u2014 which can be life-threatening if not treated.<\/p>\n

How is it treated?<\/p>\n

Children with KHE are usually treated with:<\/p>\n

Steroids
Drugs like sirolimus to shrink the tumour
Blood transfusions if platelet levels drop
Chemotherapy in some severe cases<\/p>\n

In the UK, specialist centres like Great Ormond Street Hospital manage most cases.<\/p>\n

How rare is it?<\/p>\n

KHE is extremely rare – affecting around 1 in every 100,000 children.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes the stress away as my maternity pay ends in a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

‘Trust your instincts’<\/p>\n

I was due back at work in September and Bront\u00eb was meant to start nursery,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it can’t take the pressure of her illness away, it can take the pressure of the financial struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cBront\u00eb deserves some really nice days out when she’s stable so it gives us the chance to do that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mum now urges other parents to speak up if something doesn\u2019t feel right.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrust your instincts. Even if you’re wrong and you go to the doctors and it’s nothing it doesn’t matter,” she said. <\/p>\n

“You’re not going to get told off. Just go and get it checked out as there is no wrong in doing that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have your motherly instincts for a reason and I’m a firm believer that instincts don’t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Family<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

11-year-old Sophia Brooks, mum Natalie, baby Bront\u00eb, 8 months, and dad Chris Brooks.Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AT first, doctors dismissed the growing mark on Natalie Brooks\u2019 newborn baby Bront\u00eb\u2019s ear as nothing more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2263,2264,59,102,2265,3259,2267,2262,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-17161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-childhood-diseases-and-illnesses","tag-children-parenting-and-family-life","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-health-warnings","tag-operations-and-surgery","tag-parenting-advice","tag-section-healthnews-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}