A Hillingdon couple tells the story of how they honour the memory of their late daughter Daniella, who sadly passed away in 2016 after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Receiving a diagnosis of a brain tumour impacts the patient, their family and friends, employment or education and more. Dannie’s parents Angela and Terry Logan told us their daughters diagnosis came as a shock and the care processes that followed was confusing and scary. They explained how family life changed as Dannie's medical care progressed, the increase in stress. Medical language had become more confusing as Dannie’s condition progressed, outside relationships became more difficult to manage and without an independent 3rd party to support them, Dannie’s family accepted the reality of their complex new environment on their own.
Daniella had just started secondary school at ‘one of the best’ secondary schools in the borough and has been described as a beautiful young girl with a strong Christian faith, she was kind, studious, her role in church grew and she volunteered as an altar server and always saw a positive in everything.
Daniella and her friends were excited and looking forward to 'bigger' responsibilities at 'big school'. In a short time, they had gone from being at the highest level in her primary school to being one of the youngest students in her new secondary school. All the same, this mature 11-year-old, was quietly nervous but prepared for the challenge ahead, with her warm, caring and bubbly personality. Fresh into the first half of the school term, she quickly established herself as an 'A' student and was soon selected as a prefect for her year group. All seemed to be going well for Daniella and her family.
Within a few short weeks of starting secondary school, Dannie (as she was fondly known by loved ones) suddenly started having difficulty moving her right eye. General eye tests returned normal results and Dannie was sent home. According to one of the UKs leading brain tumour charities HeadSmartUK, this is one of the most common symptoms of childhood brain tumours. In Dannie’s case it was missed as a sign of tumour, over time Dannie’s sight begun to deteriorate, and she was referred to the children’s A&E for further investigations and an MRI scan. The scan revealed a growth in Dannie’s brain and prompted an urgent referral to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. Dannie’s health sadly declined and she passed away in 2016, leaving her parents Angela and Terry logun Devastated.
Determined to find a way to turn the pain they had experienced into something that wasn’t all negative, they formed The Daniella Logan Foundation a children’s brain tumour charity that says it “does things Differently to other charities” by providing a bespoke package to families needing support after a receiving a brain tumour diagnosis for a child.
Angela said: "In the years after Daniella’s passing, my experience of caring for her slowly turned into a yearning for more, I had a deeper desire growing within to help other families that were going through a similar situation to the one we had faced, as well as help improve this experience for the next child diagnosed with a brain tumour. So the only thing I could think of doing was to start a charity that could fill in the gaps, something that really made a difference, so in 2020 we officially registered as a charity and since then we have come so far. It was difficult, to begin with, and we invested not just time but also our own savings to get things up and running, but it is well worth the sacrifice to know we have made a difference.”
"Life really changed when Dannie was diagnosed with a brain tumour. One day everything was normal &
then the next, everything changed permanently".
Terry told us of the amazing support the charity has received from across the community, “we were extremely pleased to have been selected as the mayor’s chosen charity by Councillor Becky Haggar and are extremely grateful to her for being so supportive, she attends all our events and always gets involved. The people of Hillingdon have also been wonderful in supporting us, however, we really want to do more and are looking to find a notable person or celebrity to become a patron of our charity and help raise awareness. We have plans to provide a hospice for children, enabling them to be more comfortable during the final stages of their lives, we cannot do this without a lot of support and are appealing to anybody that can help us to get in touch via our website.”
Terry Added: "Life really changed when Dannie was diagnosed with a brain tumour. One day everything was normal & then the next, everything changed permanently.
"I WAS SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE BUT HAD NEVER FELT SO ALONE"
Kate (not her real name) was supported by the Daniella logun Foundation and told us about the huge difference the charity has made to her life and the massive impact Angela and Terry Logun had on the family’s wellbeing during her sons Alexander’s battle with a terminal brain tumour.
“The last 8 months of Alexander's life we spent at the hospital. It was just awful. I did not know that he wasn’t going to make it and desperately thought - what else can I do to make my son better? It was a time of, Fear, sleepless nights, arguments with doctors and anguish for me and my son. we didn’t have support from anyone, and it really would have made a huge difference.
“When Alexander died, I felt my life was over. I knew I had to carry on, but I honestly did not know how. I had to function - work, meet people, chat and eventually I had to leave my job in the City to survive. We needed all kinds of support - legal as they told us that we had lost parental responsibility when Alexander turned 18, they offered us a psychologist, but she said that we cannot say anything bad to her as she is under obligation to write down everything we say and report us if we say something wrong. None of us could work at that time and we were struggling financially.
Looking back, I am sure now, Alexander's dad needed to talk but I begged him not to tell anyone about what we were going through, somehow I was hoping that it would go away if we pretend that it had never happened.
Someone sent us in the right direction to find things that would help Alexander and us, we made friends with people that were going through the same thing as us, and to find out about charities such as The Daniella Logun Foundation that support people like us was a huge relief. Since alexander’s passing, I have started a charity that provides musical therapy for care homes and schools. My work involves singing and dancing, I work with children, vulnerable adults and the elderly. I am surrounded by people all the time - but to be honest, really deep inside I still feel alone.
Coming across the charity made me finally feel like I' had found that friend who really understood my situation. Angela (from the DLF) has given me the time and attention that I need, she sends me flowers and lovely gifts that make me feel cared for... who doesn't value being treated like a person and knowing someone else cares about you. Most of all it's good to know that I do not need to pretend with her, and I can just be myself. "
If you wish to Help Angela and Terry to honour Dannie’s memory and help other children with brain tumour diagnoses by volunteering with the charity or donating, you can find out more via the charity’s website www.thedaniellalogunfoundation.org
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