featured-image

THE PARENTS of a toddler thought his vomiting and lack of appetite were caused by a 'stomach bug'. To their horror , the tot was given just months to live after an incurable tumour the size of a tennis ball was found in his brain . Lucas Garcia-Batalla was diagnosed with a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma - a fast growing malignant tumour - just ten days after his first birthday, Lucas had been suffering from flu like symptoms, so his diagnosis came as a "shock" to his parents David Garcia Jurado, 42, and Laura Batalla, 38.

The toddler underwent three major brain surgeries, 13 months of chemotherapy and two months of proton beam therapy. Unfortunately, the tumour kept coming and David suspects his little boy might have less than a year to live. David, a senior project manager, from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, said: "Just before his first birthday Lucas was sick.



"He didn't have much appetite but we thought it was a stomach bug. "He didn't stop vomiting, he was lethargic, and everything happened so quickly - it was not a slow progression. "A few days later, a CT scan revealed a massive tumour on the back of his head.

It was 4cm by 4cm - it was like a tennis ball. "That was a very dark moment for me. I still have the picture in my mind of my wife holding Lucas and them telling us he had a brain tumour.

" Lucas, now six, celebrated his first birthday on April 1, 2019. After a CT scan revealed Lucas had a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma , he was transferred to The Royal Hospital for Chi.

Back to Health Page