A very good friend of mine has a child with a tumour on the brain stem. It's been operated on, but will never be completely removed due to its location - tangled up with the stem, the vocal cords, trachea etc. The poor little mite is fantastic with all the trauma surrounding it - months in hospital, scans, loss of balance, loss of voice for a while (awful at any age, but this was aged nearly 3), a tracheotomy, being fed liquids by huge syringe direct into the tummy through a "peg" I think it's called. Now there are scans every 3 months just waiting for it to be actively growing again so they can begin aggressive treatment. The little one is now 4. The whole thing leaves me shocked, unable to comprehend, and yet Mum and Dad are truly the best parents you could ever hope to have. The way they, and the little one, cope takes my breath away. So, so brave. Nothing seems important and all my troubles are insignificant after spending time with them all - they're in my thoughts often, as my littlest is the same age, and when he's driving me mad I have to remind myself how lucky we all REALLY are. xx