Mum's horror after kid's 'strawberry allergy' turns out to be terminal diagnosis

SOPHIE WHITWORTH CLAIMED DOCTORS 'FOBBED OFF' HER FIVE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTERS VOMITING AS A STRAWBERRY ALLERGY BUT SAID HER GIRL WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BRAIN CANCER - THE MUM SENT A

WARNING TO OTHER PARENTS 15:10, 29 May 2025Updated 10:36, 30 May 2025 A mum revealed her horror after doctors allegedly said her child had a strawberry allergy but later found out it was a

terminal illness. Sophie Whitworth, 33, took her then five-year-old girl, Taliyah Whitworth, to the GP after she started vomiting but claimed she was "fobbed off" by doctors. The

mum, a carer, said she initially took her girl to the doctor when when she started being sick twice a week after scoffing strawberries. Although doctors allegedly believed the girl had an

allergy, it was later revealed she had terminal brain cancer after the mum demanded a scan. The fruit-loving tot had enjoyed snacking a punnet of the fruit each night so her mum assumed

she'd eaten too much and stopped giving her any. Despite this, Taliyah's vomiting continued and she started to develop painful headaches, severe mood swings and trouble with her

balance. Sophie, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, took her to the GP after this and claimed doctors told her it was likely to haver been an allergic reaction to the strawberries. The mum

said: "The doctors didn't do an allergy test or anything. I just listened to the doctors and thought 'it's probably strawberries then' but in my gut I knew something

wasn't right. It's not normal for your child to be sick twice a week." Taliyah's symptoms continued to get worse over the next six months and Sophie said she kept taking

her girl to the GP repeatedly. She added: "I stopped the strawberries for a week or two but she kept being sick." The mum on July 18, 2018, took her five-year-old to the hospital

after she collapsed and became "unresponsive" at school. The mum said: "I rushed her to hospital and demanded for somebody to scan her and sort her out. They got security and

made a massive drama and a fuss and tried to remove me from the hospital. They were saying 'there's nothing wrong with her'." Sophie begged for tests and scans to be done

and she was later given the heartbreaking news that Taliyah had a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball, called a medulloblastoma. The girl was rushed to another hospital where fluid was

drained from her brain and she had a 14-hour operation five days later, to remove the tumour. The mum said: "It's really shocking. It's a mother's instinct that your

daughter's not right." She added: "During that six-month period I was taking her to the doctors non-stop. Her mood was really bad and she had really severe headaches when she

woke up in the morning because that's the pressure of the brain tumour. The doctors should've known that." Sophie revealed how else she felt "fobbed off" and

allegedly that "no one was listening" to her before the diagnosis. She added: "When it got really bad I was taking her to hospital and they were getting her to walk in a

straight line and she was wobbling and she was cross-eyed." Taliyah had 30 days of radiotherapy in September 2018 and started nine months of chemotherapy in October 2018 to tackle the

tumour. After seven years of annual scans, the mum was devastated to discover her now 12-year-old daughter's tumour had returned on May 3, 2025, and said it had spread around her head.

Sophie said: "For seven years it's been a struggle and it's been hard work, it's been a major shift in our family. She has cerebral palsy and bell's palsy and

she's got kidney problems and hearing problems. "She didn't eat for three years. She'd been suffering with moods again and her fatigue got even worse and she's been

having really bad neck pain." GET HEALTH WARNINGS STRAIGHT TO YOUR WHATSAPP! As the world grapples with the threats of Covid-19, mpox and more, the Mirror has launched its very own

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PRIVACY NOTICE. CLICK HERE TO JOIN The mum set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for at-home treatments, including a £10,000 oxygen chamber. Now, Sophie is urging parents to 'listen to

their gut instinct' if they suspect something is wrong with their child. Article continues below Sophie said: "Definitely push and demand and don't ever take no for an answer.

You have a right to push it forwards. You know your own child so if you think there's something not right, you need to push that. Listen to your gut instinct."