We got told to go into the family room and we know exactly what that room is for. We were in there for probably another half an hour before a team of doctors came in and told us she had suffered from two strokes.
- Kirrily Payne
JUST weeks ago brave little battler Lexi Davies was flourishing.
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The four-year-old was loving attending kinder at Whittlesea and was a devoted older sister to five-month-old Adelyn.
Lexi was diagnosed with leukaemia before she turned two and underwent treatment at the Royal Children's Hospital.
After treatment the little fighter was declared cancer-free and her family was saving to buy a house.
Mum Kirrily Payne and her partner Tim Davies had also welcomed daughter Adelyn, who is now five months.
Sadly, in a cruel twist of fate, Lexi is now fighting a new battle.
On Tuesday, April 9 Ms Payne noticed her daughter was overly tired and was "a little off balance".
"She was really tired at 5pm and went to bed," Ms Payne said.
"She woke up the next day and she was fine - she was back to her normal self."
However, two days later she had to be rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital.
Ms Payne's younger cousin, who was visiting the family, told her aunt she witnessed Lexi losing balance and walking into the kitchen bench.
"She had blood pouring out of her nose, the right side of her body was completely limp and she couldn't speak."
Ms Payne said her daughter had a vacant look in her eyes.
"It was terrifying," she said.
"She was looking at me but it was like she had no idea who I was."
Ms Payne and Mr Davies had an anxious wait to find out what had happened to their daughter.
They didn't know whether Lexi had relapsed and the leukaemia had returned.
The couple was told their daughter would need an MRI and a lumbar puncture, which would take about an hour.
They were forced to watch the clock tick for almost two hours with no word from doctors on their daughter's condition.
"It was getting quite late at night and we'd been here all day with no answers," Ms Payne said.
"We got told to go into the family room and we know exactly what that room is for. We were in there for probably another half an hour before a team of doctors came in and told us she had suffered from two strokes."
Doctors said she had a minor stroke on the Tuesday and a major stroke on the Thursday.
"They've told us that there was not enough oxygen going to those parts of the brain for some time so those parts of the brain are dead - they can't be fixed," she said.
Lexi was unconscious and surviving on a breathing machine for two days and was fed through a tube.
Ms Payne said it was devastating not knowing when their daughter would wake up.
What makes the latest battle an even more bitter pill to swallow is the fact doctors believe the strokes may have been caused by the port Lexi had to allow for her leukaemia treatment to be administered.
"If she got her port line out earlier, this possibly wouldn't have happened," Ms Payne said.
"I've been wanting to get that port out for months - this could have all been avoided."
Ms Payne said the surgeon who put the port in had been unable to fit in Lexi for the surgery.
It has now been removed, but the damage has been done.
Ms Payne said her daughter was now awake and was making slow but steady progress every day.
She is on blood thinners and has started moving her right leg and shoulder.
Lexi's speech has been affected and she often slurs words.
"She's getting a bit more movement and we're slowly starting to see when she smiles the other side of her face is starting to lift up a bit," she said.
The areas of the brain affected by the strokes control the right side of her body and her speech.
Ms Payne said doctors were unable to give the family an indication of how long Lexi will be in hospital and whether she will make a full recovery.
"The strokes just missed where her memory is, we're very fortunate for that," she said.
Ms Payne said Lexi has moments of happiness when spending time with her younger sister.
But she is upset she has been unable to spend time with her kinder mates.
"She knows she's missing out going to kinder, which she loves," Ms Payne said.
Doctors have encouraged Lexi to try and use her left hand to draw, which is another challenge for the youngster who recently broke her arm.
In addition to that Ms Payne's mother Gayle, who would usually be the first person to rush to her granddaughter's bedside, passed away in August last year.
"It's a lot different this time because I know mum would have been the first one here," Ms Payne said.
She said the family had also been forced to dip into their savings to pay for accommodation and parking at the hospital over the past few weeks.
The couple moved to Whittlesea from Warrnambool following Lexi's diagnosis to be closer to the hospital, but that now works against them when trying to access subsidised accommodation.
"We tried to get into the Ronald McDonald House but we live 50 minutes away and that's classified as too close."
Instead, the family is staying in $160 a night accommodation while continuing to pay to rent their own home.
"We were trying to save for a house and we've pretty much wiped out our house deposit money," Ms Payne said.
For that reason, the couple is extremely grateful to the generosity of people who donated a total of $2500 to the family at Premier Speedway in Warrnambool on the weekend.
"That has been such a great help - that's paid for two weeks of our accommodation."
Ms Payne said she hoped she wouldn't be forced to drive to the hospital each day from Whittlesea to see Lexi.
"That would be two hours travel every day with a baby - I'd have to leave at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning," she said.
Ms Payne said the family was beyond grateful for the support - through well wishes and donations - from people in the south-west.
"We're so thankful," she said.
"It's going to be another long tough road, but she is very strong."
If you want to help the family in their time of need, you can make a donation to a bank account set up for Lexi.
The name of the account is Alexis Davies, the BSB is 063533 and the account number is 10827971.
You can also keep up to date with Lexi's journey by joining the Facebook page Lexi's Bright Fight.
Dozens of people have left messages wishing Lexi a speedy recovery on the page.
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