At just 2 years old and just one day before becoming the most incredible big sister, our beautiful, funny and bright little girl got given the cruelest diagnosis. DIPG.

Her life completely changed over night.

Aubrey 'Strawberry' was an incredibly energetic, fearless and loving little girl. She had an incredible bond with her big brother and was so excited to become a big sister.

She loved gymnastics, stories, scooting, swimming, dancing and singing. She was a real thrill seeker and loved anything adventurous. She was the light of our lives.

If Aubrey wasn't singing to her baby brother, she was giggling away with her big brother. The three children had an incredible bond.

Aubrey's caring nature stoodout. She always cared for everyone else and put everyone before herself. When going through anything medical, including radiotherapy, having her monthly blood tests, or replacing her NG tube, she would always check on everyone else, ensuring that we were all ok despite the fact that it was her going through something major.

Aubrey fought DIPG brave and fiercely for 10 and a half months before going to Heaven on the 18th August.

DIPG took away some of her physical abilities and eventually, it paralyzed the right side of her body, but it did not take away her love for life and truly inspiring character. Aubrey's bravery stood out and inspired so many. She was RESILIENT, brave, funny and courageous. She taught us as a family so much and taught us how to make the most out of every single day, regardless of what you are facing.

Aubrey was the bravest, most inspirational, and funniest little girl with a strong character full of humour, adventure and kindness. We could not be any prouder of our precious daughter.

Aubrey went through unbelievable amounts of awfulness including 13 rounds of radiotherapy under general anesthetic, a biopsy going straight into her brain, steroids, side effects from medication, hospital stays, the loss of movement on her right side, it took away her ability to walk, gave her severe stomach pain, her appearance drastically changed which lead to her being stared and pointed at, she had vision problems, talking became difficult and much, much more. DIPG even stole her smile as her facial muscles became weak.

Despite all she was going through, Aubrey never complained. Instead, she focused on perseverance. Her sheer determination got her over many obstacles and barriers.

Her resilience, strength and sense of adventure taught our family so much. She made the most out of every single day. She loved life, despite all she was up against.

She adored her family and became an inspiration to so many people around the world.

We miss our daughter more than words could ever describe.

To honour our daughter, we are raising awareness and contributing to DIPG research. Andrew and I are going to do a sky dive on what should have been Aubrey's 4th birthday. The 6th December 2024. This would only be a small fraction of the bravery Aubrey had whilst facing a disease so cruel, it took her life.

We have funded the dive ourselves, so every penny goes directly to Abbies Army. This charity funds research and trials, in the hope that one day, we can find a cure for this cruel, agonising disease.

I hope that one day, families will no longer have to go through what we have done, but more importantly, I hope one day, children do not have to go through what our beautiful Aubrey had to go through.

Aubrey 'Strawberry' is the second of three amazing children and is missed more than words can ever describe.

What is DIPG? 🎗

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma commonly known as DIPG is a rare peadiatric brain tumour, with around 40 children in the UK being diagnosed each year.

DIPG is the 'most puzzling of all peadiatric brain tumours' as medical professionals do not yet understand the biology of this tumour. It is located in the most complex part of the brain making surgery impossible.

DIPG is usually found in children between 5-10 years old, but can affect children outside of this age range. Aubrey was just 2 years old when she was diagnosed 💔

DIPG is a highly aggressive brain tumour located in the the pons, in the brain stem.

This area is at the top of your spine at the base of the brain. This location is responsible for all your vital body functions that you don't have to think about, such as breathing, sleeping, heart rate, speech, all your motor functions, movement, eye sight, hearing, taste and even swollow. It is the 'main computer' of your entire brain.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas are dangerous.

They are inoperable and sadly carry a horrific terminal prognosis.

Removing the tumour from the brain stem, is impossible due to the location of the tumour. Removing the tumour would damage healthy brain tissue and would lead to death.

The survival time for this cruel disease is usually between 9-12 months if radiotherapy works ssuccessfully.

To date, radiotherapy is the only current treatment and only extends your life by an average of 3 months, by temporarily shrinking the tumour but due to the aggressive nature of this tumour, it grows back quickly and takes away the child's main bodily functions when it does whilst the mind stays intact, so the child Is fully aware of these changes.

Steroids help to control the swelling in the brain and can help to reduce some symptoms, but come with horrific side effects.

This disease is cruel and torture.

The symptoms of DIPG usually develop very rapidly before diagnosis, reflecting the fast growth of these tumors.

The symtoms that Doctors usually see, are:

• Loss of balance, causing problems with walking. This was Aubrey's main symptom.

• Head aches, especially in the morning due to increased pressure in the brain when getting up. This is sometimes followed by sickness immediately afterwards.

• Problems swollowing

• Slurred speech/difficulty finding the correct words.

• Weakness on one side of the body

• Strange uncontrollable eye movements

Unlike most tumours, DIPG is NOT genetic. The child is born with a slight 'blip' in their DNA coding, that causes the tumour to grow when the brain is developing quickly.

DIPG is so rare, that not even all Doctors are aware of this tumour.

When asking the hospital why we were sent home after our first visit just a week before Aubrey was diagnosed, we were told "The Doctor did not have knowledge on DIPG, so he did not spot the signs."