A young mother found herself bedridden and blind after doctors initially dismissed her health issues as ‘migraines,’ only to discover later that she had a brain tumor.
Tia Bradbury from Cheshire, England, had been suffering from migraines and eye ‘flickering’ for several months. According to her, these symptoms were overlooked by doctors and attributed to hemiplegic migraines in December of the previous year.
At 25 years old and 22 weeks pregnant, Tia noticed her vision diminishing in her left eye daily and suspected there was a more serious issue at play.
She began experiencing changes in behavior and personality, coupled with two to three severe migraines a week that left her bedridden and at times unable to speak.
Tia shared: “I was irritated by everything. I wasn’t myself. I didn’t find joy in a lot of things.”
The mother of two was ‘shocked’ when, in April 2024, she woke up completely blind in her left eye.
Tia recounted: “It was quite sudden, it went from flickering to not being able to see a thing. It was so strange, the weirdest feeling. The migraines were horrendous, I couldn’t get out of bed.”
Thinking she needed glasses, she visited an optician, who immediately advised her to go to the hospital when her eye did not respond to light.
Despite this, Tia, who works as a prison officer, claimed she had to insist on getting an MRI scan as doctors continued to attribute her vision loss to hemiplegic migraines, which can impact eyesight.
“I honestly just thought it was a migraine because I was told that for so long by professionals,” Tia said.
“I wasn’t expecting them to say I needed surgery.”
An MRI scan conducted two weeks later revealed a 3cm non-cancerous tumor in her brain pressing on her left optic nerve, causing the blindness, and growing rapidly.
Tia believes her concerns were not ‘taken seriously’ because she appeared to be a ‘young girl’ exaggerating her symptoms, but she knew her pain was atypical for a migraine.
Facing a 12-hour surgery the following month, she was anxious due to her pre-existing heart condition from open-heart surgery at age 11, and also about how the anesthesia might affect her unborn child.
“It was just really scary, I was more worried that something was going to happen to me and I would have to leave my little girl and my partner behind. That was the worst part,” she said.
Fortunately, the surgery was successful, and her baby remained ‘completely fine,’ while Tia’s vision was restored.
Doctors suggested that her personality changes were either due to the tumor itself or the pain it caused.
Her recovery was challenging, but with the support of a strong network, she is now free of migraines and pain.
She now encourages others experiencing similar symptoms to trust their instincts and persist in seeking medical attention.
“If I had left it and not continually gone back to the hospital, I probably wouldn’t be here now,” she added.
A spokesperson for Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust stated: “We are unable to comment in detail about individual patients due to confidentiality reasons but would like to emphasize that we take any issues raised regarding a patient’s care very seriously.
“We would encourage Ms Bradbury to get in touch with our Patient Advice and Complaints Team in the first instance so this can be looked into.”