Told She Had A Brain Tumour On Christmas Day

They were opening presents and having fun, but Jenny Day, 50, knew what had to happen next

- Kristina Beanland

Watching my 15-year old daughter, Amanda, opening presents, I oohed and aahed as she showed me her new clothes and paint brushes. To her, it was a happy Christmas Day. But behind my smile, I was terrified, knowing the horror that was to come and how in a few short words, I was going to destroy everything…

It was 2013 and just eight months earlier, Amanda had been a busy teenager, studying for her GCSEs and planning to study art at college. She loved dancing and watching her favourite film, Step Up, with her big sister, Rebecca, then 17. My husband, Gary, and I were so proud of our girls.

But then, Amanda began to complain of headaches. As a sufferer myself, I thought she’d inherited them from me. But they only got worse – she’d have a headache every day and soon she was getting back ache too. In the holidays, all she wanted to do was lie on the sofa.

And then, in September 2013, I’d just got home from doing the weekly shop when the phone rang – it was Amanda’s school. ‘Amanda has collapsed,’ her teacher said. ‘We’ve called an ambulance. You need to get here.’

There was no time for questions. I hung up and ran to my car. The 10-minute journey seemed to last for hours, and when I finally arrived, I saw Amanda being stretchered into an ambulance. ‘Mum!’ she cried, tears streaming down her face. I was relieved that she was conscious and talking – but as I held her close, I was so confused. What was wrong?

Just a migraine

I called Gary and promised to keep him updated. And, at hospital, a CT scan came back clear. ‘It was just a bad migraine,’ the consultant said.