Mum has 'chicken egg'-sized tumour removed from brain
Skye Hamilton, 27, was preparing for her daughter's first Christmas when doctors detected the tumour.
After giving birth to her third child last year, Skye Hamilton was treating herself to a beauty treatment ahead of the festive period when she began to feel "funny".
"She took herself to a medical centre and it went from 0-100," her sister Zoe told Yahoo News Australia. "Within hours we had a brain tumour."
The tumour inside the 27-year-old's brain was "the size of a chicken egg" and she was rushed to a local hospital in Western Sydney where doctors were only able to "partially" remove the mass — warned by surgeons that full removal would have ended with paralysis.
'Devastated' family await diagnosis
Despite her life turning upside down in an instant, the family are still awaiting answers, while Skye's health has continued to deteriorate.
"Whatever is in her body is causing all these things in her brain to go wrong," Zoe said, explaining Skye is currently undergoing multiple medical tests.
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Siblings 'step up' for beloved sister Skye
Zoe and her younger brother Nathan have stuck by their sister throughout the "rollercoaster" year and have focussed their attention on their nephews, aged seven and four, and their 10-month-old niece.
"This last year has been hell ... We've had to all band together to make sure the kids can still have a normal-ish life so they're not looking down the badness of what they're going through," Zoe said, sharing one of Skye's sons refers to his mum's illness as "the monster".
The siblings have also created a GoFundMe page in the hopes it will elevate some of the financial burdens Skye and her partner are currently facing.
"We don't know what is going to happen or whether Skye will ever be able to return to work," Zoe explained. "Nathan and I have always stepped up when we've needed to ... I honestly don't know how we would live without each other.
"I would die for my brother and sister and I think they would do the same both ways. We're very close."
Despite the siblings setting the modest goal of $1,500 for the online fundraiser, a tenfold increase has already been reached within a week, highlighting the impact this close-knit family have made on those around them.
"We don't like asking for things but it's given us more strength knowing there are people looking out for us.
"The best of humanity is on show."
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