Brave little girl's 'drunk walk' turned out to be incurable brain tumour after mum's concerns were dismissed

Olivia Szabo, five, was a "playful, smiley" child up until September 2023 - when she fell over in the playground and banged her head, after weeks of "walking like a drunk person". Citing her "mother's intuition", mum Marietta Kulcsar, 35, says she immediately knew something was seriously wrong. But weekly visits to A&E proved “hopeless" - as doctors kept sending her home.

In December, when Olivia’s face suddenly fell to one side, she was rushed for a CT scan - which confirmed she had a large tumour in the back of her head. Since then, the tot has needed regular rounds of chemotherapy - and doctors have said she’ll have the tumour for the rest of her life, as they can't remove all of it.

Marietta, a hypnotherapist, from Manchester, said: “After Olivia’s fall, I took her to A&E, every week, for two months. The doctors thought it might be a urinary tract infection - or a stomach bug, when she started vomiting a lot. Sometimes they’d send her home with antibiotics - but mostly, they just told me not to worry.”

In late September, Olivia had fallen in the playground during playtime and her teacher told Marietta at the end of the day. She’d been struggling with her balance for “a while” and Marietta says she’d have to hold on to a wall if she needed to walk around the house.

“I noticed many changes - the way she walked was similar to a drunk person,” Marietta said. “When she woke up at night, she’d need to hold the wall to get to me. Obviously, she’s four - so I knew she wasn’t drunk.”

Olivia had also started eating and drinking less - and visibly lost weight. After her playground fall, Marietta took her straight to A&E to figure out what was wrong. But doctors told her Olivia was fine and an infection was likely the cause of her balance issues.

She said: “After her fall, it just wasn’t getting better. I asked doctors straight away to give Olivia a CT scan - but they said no, because they were worried she was too young for such an intense exam. But the reason I wanted her to have a scan was to see if something was going on with her balance - it was getting worse.”

On December 22, 2023, Marietta noticed Olivia’s face began drooping on one side. At first, the changes were “subtle,” and no-one else could see it apart from Marietta. But her "mum's intuition" was proved right - when her face suddenly fell completely to one side.

"It was very hard because I didn’t expect anything like that," Marietta said. "We were with my sister, her kids, and Olivia’s dad. I said to him: 'Do you see, the side of her face has dropped?' No one really saw it - but I did. It’s my mum’s intuition, I’m always with her - so I know when something isn’t right.”

Marietta rushed Olivia back to A&E, and doctors took her for a CT scan, as well as an MRI the following day. This confirmed she had a “large” tumour at the back of her brain - and Olivia’s care team immediately knew they wouldn’t be able to get it all. But on December 29, they managed to remove some of it, during a seven-hour procedure.

Marietta was told she’d need 18 months worth of chemotherapy - which is due to finish in August 2025. Meanwhile, her tumour has shrunk - and doctors have told her she may be able to live a long life, with the tumour as a chronic condition. This means she’ll receive chemo every six months, until she turns nine - as well as yearly MRIs until the age of 16.

“She’ll be able to live a normal life, one day,” Marietta said. “But we’re cautious - if it starts to get bigger, we need to start everything again. We’re hoping to have a better Christmas this year - but we can’t be further than an hour away from the nearest hospital. She’s fighting to get her energy back - but on OK days, she’s just like she used to be.”