Feeling my shoulders being shaken I slowly opened my tear-filled eyes, and saw my daughter hovering over me, a look of horror on her face. Then I realized I was lying on our kitchen floor. 'Mum!' Nicola, then six, cried.
It was July 2005, and I'd unexpectedly had a seizure. 'Call Grandma,' I whispered, and she ran off to grab the phone. Before I knew it, I was being rushed to Cork University Hospital.
As I sat in my hospital bed, a doctor told me I had a huge mass growing on the right side of my brain, affecting the left side of my body. I'd noticed a few months earlier my left arm and leg wouldn't move voluntarily sometimes, and I would momentarily lose control of my hand, but I assumed it was from the stress and grief I had endured.
HORRORS IN STORE
Seven years earlier, I was six months pregnant with Nicola when her dad - my husband Nic had died in a scuba-diving accident. After all I'd been through, I could never imagine what horrors life had in store for me next. 'I'm afraid to say it's inoperable,' the doctor said. I could take medication to keep the seizures at bay, but I'd likely have a catastrophic brain haemorrhage within two years. It was terrifying. Nicola had already lost her dad, she couldn't possibly lose her mum too.
But a couple of months later, a neurosurgeon in Bristol offer me hope when he agreed to attempt brain surgery. After the 15-hour operation to remove the mass on 6 January 2006, I spent months in physio to regain function in my left arm and leg.
However, one day that summer, I had another seizure, followed by another straight after. Soon, I was having up to 12 seizures a day. 'Does this mean it hasn't worked?' I cried to the doctor.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 08, 2022-Ausgabe von WOMAN'S OWN.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 08, 2022-Ausgabe von WOMAN'S OWN.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
MAGNIFICENT MAURITIUS
Pe This istand in the ut 7% Indian Ocean feels Sa: like paradise, says Charlotte Richards
I HATE BEING A MUM
One woman, 55, reveals why she resents all of the sacrifices she made to be a mother
SLASH SUGAR AND SLIM
Trying to lose weight? With these clever tweaks, you don’t have to miss out on the seasonal sweet stuff
DAWN HARPER ASK THE DOCTOR
Doctor Dawn Harper answers all your questions
SEX HORRORS SOLVED!
Stop physical intimacy from turning into the stuff of nightmares with our expert advice
THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE WITH CANCER
More than 12,000 people are diagnosed with brain tumours each year in the UK. Two mums tell us how the cruel disease changed their lives forever
DAWN NEESOM MIND OF MY OWN
The Woman's Own columnist has her say on marriage, tea and Absolutely Fabulous!
TRAPPED INSIDE MY HOME WITH A MONSTER
Gemma Williams, 46, thought she'd die at the hands of her partner
AMANDA TO REPLACE CAT?
With increasing criticism directed at the This Morning host, are producers ready to call in a familiar face?
Get the GOSS
Your round-up of this week's biggest showbiz stories