Doctors said baby had milk allergy before he was diagnosed with tumour

A baby died from a brain tumour after doctors initially attributed his symptoms to a 'milk allergy' and 'teething'.

Louie Moss was vomiting and had failed to gain weight at four months old, which doctors thought could have been caused by an allergy to dairy milk he was taking in while breastfeeding.

The tot, who was born on October 18, 2021, was given antibiotics and a milk alternative, but his condition worsened.

Louie's parents Robert and Molly were told by his doctor 'they'd never seen anything like it' and also theorised the youngster could have a cold or was teething.  

But a lumbar puncture at Peterborough City Hospital revealed a high level of white blood cells and a CT scan then uncovered Louie had a substantial brain tumour.

After surviving a cardiac arrest, Louie underwent emergency surgery at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where doctors drained fluid from his brain.

Days later, a second operation successfully removed over 80 per cent of the tumour. But within two weeks a follow-up scan revealed it had returned to its original size.

Robert and Molly were given the devastating news that Louie 'only had weeks to live', so they decided to continue his care at East Anglia Children's Hospice in Milton, Cambridgeshire, where he later died, aged six months, in April 2022.

Robert, who has two more children aged eight, and 10 months, said: 'Raising Louie was different to what me and my fiancée Molly had experienced with our eldest son.

'We expected Louie's symptoms to settle, but they didn't. We were in disbelief at the news he had a brain tumour.

'I didn't know much about the disease and to think my baby who was just months old had one was shocking.

'From our experience, I think it's harder for doctors to spot a brain tumour in a baby.

'They thought he could have a cold or was teething. Our doctor even said that in his whole career they'd never seen anything like it before.'

Robert said: 'We were given the option to try chemotherapy but were advised that ultimately, Louie's diagnosis was terminal.

'After being told our son had possibly only weeks to live, we decided it was in his best interest not to exercise this option.

'We felt putting a baby through chemo and seeing how relentless his tumour was we were fighting a losing battle. It's a decision you never expect to have to make as a parent and it was a deeply traumatic experience.' 

Robert, 34, is now running the London Marathon to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research in April.

The local council worker has only ever completed a half marathon before - more than a decade ago - but has been training hard and is determined to honour his son's life. 

He said: 'It's sometimes a bit tricky to balance working, being a dad and training but the support of other runners all doing it for the same cause has been a great support.

'It's go big or go home with this challenge. I wanted to do something that was a proper challenge for me, a proper way to honour Louie's life.'

He added: 'My reason for running is so that when a patient is diagnosed in the future, they have are given every opportunity to attain a positive outcome.'

Carol Robertson, national events manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: 'It's desperately sad to hear Louie's story.

'Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia and there are more than 100 different types of brain tumour, making them notoriously difficult to find effective treatments for.

'We're determined to change that but it's only by working together we will be able to improve treatment options for patients and, ultimately, a cure.'

To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Robert's London Marathon challenge visit: https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/robert-moss