My Story

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2003 to 2006
aged: 2
From: Brighton

Lola Helena Catherine Rice
died 22nd March 2006
aged 2years 8mths
Sister to Ava and Reya born 2/05/07

Lola was born 14th July 03. She was always a very happy,healthy and
gentle little girl who loved to sing and dance and loved her dummy. She always went to all the DIY shops with her daddy on a saturday morning, she loved spending time with her Ganny & Gampa & friends Harry and Charlie and she adored her big cousin Shaun more than anything!
She was always concerned for others and this made her wise beyond her years, she loved her little sister Ava and it makes me so sad to think she died 2 weeks before Ava's 1st birthday. Her favorite song was, "the Sugar Babes - Push the Button" and she loved swimming , painting and just being with the family.
Lola woke one Saturday Morning 19th March 06 and was sick, she would not hold anything down and just wanted to sleep. After speaking with the Dr it seemed lighlty that she had a stomach bug that would pass over the next day or so. By Monday she was no better & the Dr came out to see her, again he said "Stomach bug" she had no temperature or rash or any other symptoms! She slept in our bed that night & was very, very restless on the Tuesday morning her Daddy stayed off work & we were all sitting in the lounge, Ava was crawling around and I had managed to get Lola to eat a boiled egg. So we thought she was on the mend & my husband & I sat there as we often did & looked at are 2 beautiful girls & said how lucky we were to have such a perfect little family..... Then lola started to tremble & her eyes went glazed, I shouted to John (my husband) saying this looks like a fit.. he just said we're going to A & E.Lola was a sleep in my arms the whole way to Worthing A&E where she was seen straight away, they confirmed it was a seizure but did not understand why.. they kept giving her medication to try & stop the seizures but she was still fitting very gently but was not responding to any of us. I still thought at this point its epilepsey or something similar. They finally took her to have a brain scan & as they came out I looked up At the Dr who just said "We'll speak upstairs" I new then it was something major but nothing, Nothing prepared me for the next sentence.... " Lola has a very large brain tumor covering the right hand side of the brain". We broke down totally but I still had to stay positive. We were rushed to "Kings College Hospital" in London were that Night she had a bleed to the brain so it was emergency surgery. That night John & I got down on our knees in the room we were given by the hospital and prayed to God so hard I can not express to you. It was John's idea & he was always a total non believer so this must give you some idea of how desperate we were. The next day was Wednesday and they gave her another brain scan & then we new.... there was nothing else to do, her brain was gone & it was just the machines that were keeping our precious girl alive. That evening with all her family around her she was given the last rites & we turned off the machines. We brought her body home & laid her in her room. We lit candels & put up pictures of her family & played music, it was comforting to still be near her after all you don't leave your children with strangers when they are alive so we didn't when she died.
She was burried on 29th March 2006 and has a beautiful Black Granite head stone with Pink lettering & a picture of her on Christmas day.
She was my first child, my baby girl, my whole life.... we spent every day togeather and I can not begin to describe the pain, sadness, anger and utter loss we feel on a day to day basis.
I have to believe she has gone to heaven and is safe with her Nanna and Granda who have also passed away, but John can now not except that their is a GOD in this world at all. He lost the light of his life & in his mind if there was a GOd she should have been saved!

Sadly Lola never got to see her new sister "Reya" , but I know she watches over her & "Ava" too.

We later discovered that lola's tumor was so rare that it only effects 1 out of 1,000,000 children.... Why us? We were so perfect our family had everything , how quick your life can change...

We miss you angel every day, you are forever in our thoughts, and hearts. You keep that broken piece of Mummy's heart with you until we see each other again.
Loving you always and forever.

Mummy, Daddy , Ava & Reya xxxx


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