Little girl who suffered 50 seizures a day is thriving after undergoing brain surgery

The parents of a battling youngster say brain surgery at Great Ormond Street Hopital has had ‘amazing’ results on their two-year-old daughter.
Ava Oram  with mum Sam Mitchell following a fundraising event at Wingate Childrens CentreAva Oram  with mum Sam Mitchell following a fundraising event at Wingate Childrens Centre
Ava Oram with mum Sam Mitchell following a fundraising event at Wingate Childrens Centre

Just 10 weeks on from the major surgery to remove a number of tumours from her brain, Ava Oram is now thriving.

Since Ava was just three weeks old she has suffered up to 50 epileptic seizures a day.

Ava Oram, 2 (middle) with mother Sam Mitchell surrounded by fundraising staff and pupilsAva Oram, 2 (middle) with mother Sam Mitchell surrounded by fundraising staff and pupils
Ava Oram, 2 (middle) with mother Sam Mitchell surrounded by fundraising staff and pupils
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The beautiful two-year-old has tuberous sclerosis - which means she has benign tumours on her brain which cause the seizures and restrict her development.

But ten weeks ago the resilient youngster underwent brain surgery at Great Ormond Street hospital which her parents, Sam Mitchell and Phillip Oram, say has had an ‘amazing’ result.

Mum Sam, of Wingate, said: “Doctors removed part of her left frontal lobe where there were three tumours.

“The surgery took six hours and it was just awful waiting.

Ava Oram with mum Sam Mitchell and grandmother Lynne MitchellAva Oram with mum Sam Mitchell and grandmother Lynne Mitchell
Ava Oram with mum Sam Mitchell and grandmother Lynne Mitchell

“There was no guarantee the surgery would work, there was about a 50% chance it would stop her seizures and a 70-80% chance it would help reduce them.

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“Since the operation she hasn’t had a single seizure and her development is coming on because she’s not having to go through it.

“There’s no guarantee that she’ll never have a seizure again.

“It’s amazing, but it’s still really early days. We just take it a day at a time - she’s coming on leaps and bounds, but we’ll never know how long it will last.”

Ava Oram has tuberous sclerosis and had brain surgery earlier this yearAva Oram has tuberous sclerosis and had brain surgery earlier this year
Ava Oram has tuberous sclerosis and had brain surgery earlier this year

Now the child care centre Ava attends has raised more than £800 for the hospital which carried out the surgery which has a phenomenal impact on her everyday life.

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Children at Wingate Childcare dressed in yellow and held a bake sale on a special day to raise £828.

Hannah Davison, acting manager at the centre, said: “We really wanted to raise some money and also awareness of Ava’s condition.

“She’s doing amazing after her operation. We held the fundraiser exactly eight weeks on from her surgery so it was a nice way to celebrate.

“I’m so pleased that we’ve been able to raise more than £800, the support we’ve had has been amazing.”

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Sam added: “I think it’s amazing. I was really shocked when they said how much they raised, it’s a small nursery so what they’ve done is amazing.

“It’s great we’ve been able to raise awareness, my mam works in the local shop and she’s had people coming in saying they didn’t know Ava had this.

“The nursery has been amazing with Ava since day one, they’ve always done so much to support Ava.”

Sam added that the ‘lovely-natured’ toddler is tall for her age but her development age is much younger than she is.

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She has now begun taking steps on a walker and using furniture to stand upright.

Ava’s condition means her development has been hindered by seizures and medications. The determined youngster would be getting close to walking and something would happen which would knock her physical development back to that of a newborn baby,

“Before the surgery it was her balance we were really concerned about,” said Sam, 28.

“It was like her legs didn’t belong to her.

“Before the surgery she was getting more into herself. We wouldn’t get any smiles and it was hard to get her to hold eye contact.

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“Since the operation she’s been smiling, giggling and laughing and she’s been trying her hardest to learn new skills.

“She’s always been very placid, she just likes to get on with it all. She’d have a seizure and go straight back to what she was doing beforehand.”