'Happy' girl, 5, fell and hit her mouth - now mum doesn't know what the future holds

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A five year old girl has undergone 20 operations since her birth, following a diagnosis of a rare and aggressive tumour. It all started when Nicola Francis fell and hit her mouth while learning to walk.

Although the swelling in her mouth subsided after a week, the left side of her face continued to swell. Her mother, Iveta Kosova, 40, said she went back and forth between the doctors and dentist, but her young daughter's jaw kept growing.

During a wait for an appointment at their local GP, Nicola fell again, injuring her cheek, and was sent to Northampton Hospital.

Doctors there suspected an abnormal growth in her mouth and conducted a biopsy, revealing a Giant Cell Tumour - a rare and aggressive condition causing painful growths in and around the jaw.