Leah hopes to be back in Malta for Christmas

Young Leah Xuereb is recovering fast and will soon be discharged from the specialised hospital in Texas where she had a last-resort operation last month. A “stronger” mother of the three-year-old who has been fighting fever and infections for the past three weeks yesterday told The Sunday Times that the days spent in intensive care were “terrible”. “The past three weeks, after Leah underwent the 12-hour operation, were very tough... But we had to go through them to be here. “So in a way we’re lucky that we went through this ordeal. We’re also feeling much stronger morally, and physically better,” Zhana Xuereb said. On November 12, Leah underwent surgery to remove a very rare form of stomach cancer, after previous treatment in London failed. Although her surgeons were confident they had removed the entire tumour, her body temperature started fluctuating and the little girl was in “unbearable pain”. The pain persisted despite painkillers and the doctors informed the parents she was suffering from different infections. At one point they had to perform a small operation to remove the bacteria. Her parents drifted through the following days, hoping Leah would show signs of recovery,...