Schoolboy, 7, is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour which kills most ... trends now
Like all young children, Aubrey Rothery had his fair share of bumps and accidents with furniture.
But what most parents would understandably attribute to the rough and tumble of childhood ended up being a sign of a cancer which kills most sufferers who get it within a year.
Aubrey's parents, Andrew, 54, and Samantha, 51, thought something was off when their seven-year-old kept losing his balance and bumping into objects.
But they initially dismissed it as the results of a growth spurt.
When the accidents kept happening, the pair sought help from medics to pin down the cause of Aubrey's mishaps.
Aubrey Rothery, 7, has been diagnosed with deadly form of brain cancer called diffuse midline glioma (DIPG)
His parents revealed that they grew concerned after the active schoolboy started experiencing problems with his balance and bumping into furniture
An MRI scan eventually revealed these problems were due to a tumour growing in his brain with the family receiving the devastating diagnosis just last month. Pictured: Aubrey's mum, Samantha Hibbert, comforts her son in hospital
An MRI scan revealed that their 'beloved beautiful boy' had a diffuse midline glioma (DIPG).
The rare brain tumour, which strikes about 20 to 30 children in the UK a year, mostly emerges in kids between the age of five and 10.
It grows in the midline, between the two halves of the brain, and kills the majority of those who get it within a year.
Only 2 per cent of patients are alive five years after their diagnosis.
On average, patients diagnosed with DIPG can expect to survive for between eight and 11 months.
The cancer grows through the brain, causing various symptoms, but one of the most common is problems with walking, coordination or balance.
Mr Rothery, a community development worker from Newton Abbot, Devon, said the family were 'in pieces' following Aubrey's shock diagnosis in February.
'It was very subtle to start with, he was bumping into bits of furniture,' he said,
'He’d grown a lot and is quite gangly and lively and active and we thought he’s just not noticing where he’s going.
'All this happened within two days, our lives just turned upside down out of nowhere.
'It feels like in some ways like hope is the most important thing we have to hold on to — the diagnosis is harsh, and the prognosis is pretty bleak.
'We were
