Girl’s fatal tumour mistaken for ‘growing pains’

Courtney Runciman, 11, died on her first day of secondary school after waking up paralysed and doctors discovering a tumour running up her spine.

Tragic Courtney had complained of back and neck ache over the summer holidays, but a doctor was convinced they were merely the result of growing pains. Courtney enjoyed her first day at Blatchington Mill School in Hove and took part in activities with all the other children

The following morning, though, she woke up unable to move her legs. She was rushed to London's King's College Hospital where scans revealed a tumour running from the base of her spine to just below the neck. Her condition worsened considerably after emergency surgery and her parents took the heartbreaking decision to turn off her life support machine...

Source: The Metro