A 30-year-old circus performer reveals how a seemingly minor symptom led to a significant medical diagnosis.
Paige Footne, a paramedic and circus performer, is accustomed to high-risk situations. However, in June, she faced a different kind of fear due to a common symptom that resulted in a frightening diagnosis.
As she was preparing to attend the Edinburgh Festival on June 27, Paige received news of a benign brain tumor, discovered in an unexpected manner. Now, she is dealing with the aftermath of brain surgery.
Doctors identified a four-centimeter tumor growing in her brain. Reflecting on her plans, Paige told FEMAIL: “’I’d paid for everything on my credit card already.
“I have $13,000 to pay off from it – and I hadn’t brought my travel insurance yet.”
Paige had intended to perform at the festival and had been diligently training for the event.
Discussing her profession as a circus performer, the Australian commented: “The circus is more than a full-time job.
“And because I’m 30, I’m considered old in circus, so I’m really trying to make it, and I just give it all I have.”
Despite her commitment to the circus, Paige took a moment to heed her body’s signals. She realized something felt off. For four years, she had been dealing with tinnitus, a condition that causes a persistent sound in her ear.
“I had unilateral pulsatile tinnitus in one ear. It wasn’t ringing, it was more of a whooshing and pulsing in my ear,” Paige explained.
“I mentioned it to my GP, because it can be a sinister sign of something, and then they referred me to an ENT. Eventually, it showed I had some damage to the nerves on the left side.”
Initially, doctors thought it might be due to a minor head injury sustained during training, but to be sure, Paige scheduled an MRI scan on June 6.
This scan revealed she had a brain tumor located in her posterior right frontal lobe.
Surprisingly, it was unrelated to her ear symptoms.
“It was a completely incidental finding,” she said. “The tumour was in the wrong spot to cause the tinnitus.”
“Both neurosurgeons said I was so lucky, because the tumour isn’t causing me any symptoms. So in a way, circus saved my life,” Paige noted.
Paige has since undergone surgery and is recuperating in a hospital bed.