THE Crayford mother of a two-year-old girl who lost her battle with cancer after being misdiagnosed, has vowed her daughter’s death will not be in vain.

Lylah Brabner passed away on December 13 last year at the age of two years, seven months having been diagnosed on July 11 with neuroblastoma – a tumour behind her kidney half the length of her stomach.

As reported in News Shopper last August, the toddler was misdiagnosed three times before then: once at Slade Green Medical Centre and twice at Darent Valley hospital.

Hospital staff told mum Simone and father Leon Barrett on July 9 that Lylah had a viral infection and referred her back to her GP, who told them she had a urine infection apparently without even testing her urine.

Simone took her clearly distressed daughter back to Darent Valley and demanded blood tests before the correct diagnosis was finally made.

The 25-year-old says she wonders what would have happened if she had not been so insistent.

She said: "It does upset me because you kind of think what would have happened if I hadn’t take her back to the hospital.

"At least I got to see her for a further five months.

"We were inseparable and together 24/7."

Simone is hoping to set-up a charity called Lylah’s Legacy which will allow oncology patients aged three or under to make a wish in the same way charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation do for older children suffering from cancer.

The Town Hall Square, Crayford, resident says she wants to give other youngsters the chance Lylah did not get before she died.

She said: "Lylah was a massive Minnie Mouse fan and she really wanted to meet her but it was so hard to find a charity to help a child under three.

"We were told children that age don’t know what they want which is insulting really."

Simone says her daughter, who would have been three last Saturday (April 20), was a "loving and caring child" who "loved to share her toys".

She added: "Lyla would be sitting up there on a polka dot cloud saying she didn’t want her death being in vain.

"She wouldn’t want me to be moping around not doing anything – she would want me to be out there changing things."

A Darent Valley Hospital spokeswoman said at the time of Lylah's misdiagnosis: "The Trust apologises for not making the correct diagnosis at the first A&E attendance.

"When Lylah attended a few days later, she was admitted and the diagnosis was promptly made."

Visit lylahslegacy.com/our-aim.php