The Journal of a Mother Whose Daughter Had a Brain Tumour Diagnosis to Death: 951 days Age 19 18.2.97 - 24.2016 A Little About Me I was born on the 18th of February 1997 at 6.25 am. I came into the world with a mop of dark hair, blue eyes and a crying face. Of course, my first appearance in life wasn’t quite normal, as I was born with jaundice, so I was yellow for three days! My parents told me that when I was taken home from the hospital, my older brother seemed confused and intrigued by the little creature that had entered his territory. I loved the Teletubbies, the Tweenies and Barney. My biggest love was Barney, though. I remember having a video of Barney Live in New York City, 1994. I used to watch the same video religiously. I was obsessed! I also loved Disney films. I always wanted to be one of the princesses. I specifically remember wanting to be Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I was in love with her red hair. I suppose it wasn’t a generic princess colour! We had two cats, Biffa and Thomas. They were brothers and both ginger. Biffa was a fat cat who loved cuddles and would flirt with anybody. Thomas was very timid and scared of a lot of things. He would stay under my parents’ bed for most of the day. I loved them both so much. I had two grandmothers and two grandfathers who lived nearby. I have aunts, uncles and cousins, but I never see them because of the distance. When I was two, my mother’s father passed away from oesophageal cancer. My brother and he were the best of friends and would hide behind chairs from me, saying, “Medusa’s coming!” I wish I had got to know my grandfather. I’ve heard so many amazing things about him. It’s 2014 as I write this, and my grandmother, his wife, is 93 years old. She is amazing. She lives down the road from us, and I see her almost every day. Charlotte charlottesbag.org/