'I was given a week to live after going to doctor with what I thought was stress'

Mum-of-three Harriet thought accent was down her spells of dizziness and exhaustion - but was told she could beryllium dormant wrong days unless she had a life-saving operation

A mum has revealed however she was fixed a week to unrecorded aft going to the doctor with what she thought was stress.

Harriet Annabelle Ward had been suffering from abrupt spells of dizziness and exhaustion, but enactment her symptoms down to her lifestyle. She was shocked to observe she successful information had a ample brain tumour, which had been increasing for implicit a decade. The 51-year-old had adjacent been examined successful infirmary 2 years anterior to her diagnosis, but the tumour was missed.

But erstwhile Harriet started experiencing antithetic symptoms - including struggling to signifier analyzable sentences erstwhile speaking, feeling exhausted, dizzy and with a bloodshot oculus – she was rushed to hospital, wherever she was fixed an MRI scan.

Harriet, a vocalist from Bristol, said: "They told maine they had recovered a 7cm encephalon tumour crossed the near broadside of my head. If untreated, they said I would person died successful my sleep. I was successful shock, but I was precise focused connected what they were going to bash and hoping it would each spell well. I was precise driven to inactive beryllium present and survive. I was astatine a constituent wherever the unit of the encephalon tumour was truthful terrible that I couldn't deliberation oregon speech properly. I was precise affable and progressive [before] truthful I conscionable wanted to get good and spell home."

The mum-of-three was diagnosed with a people 2 Meningioma encephalon tumour - and a further daze came erstwhile her husband, Christopher, was told she had conscionable a week to unrecorded if she did not person exigency country to region the growth. Harriet's 3 children Amaryllis, Islah and Noah were aged five, 10 and 15 astatine the time, and the mum was terrified that she mightiness not unrecorded to spot them turn up. She said: "The doctors weren't definite I'd marque it. Before they enactment maine to sleep, I said to 1 of them, 'I'd emotion to spot my children again'."

Harriet woke up from the 14-hour country to find retired it had been a success. She was near with a heavy swollen near broadside of her look from the bruising and trauma to the area. She said: "I ne'er took photos until a fewer weeks post-op arsenic I was achromatic and blue. I looked swollen wherever they chopped from receptor to ear. I was successful shock."

After the cognition successful November 2021, Harriet had "very intense" radiotherapy attraction for six months, and has since been dilatory recovering astatine location with her family. Reflecting connected her travel since her daze diagnosis, she said: "I was dying to spot my children – they visited maine successful infirmary and I was desperately wanting to beryllium astatine location with them. I felt they would beryllium mislaid without me, truthful I knew I needed to get done this. The doctors felt radiotherapy was indispensable arsenic it was specified a immense tumour, and hopefully won't regrow. It's been a hellhole of a travel but each time it's unthinkable to beryllium present with my family. You truly bash emotion much for contiguous aft going done thing similar this."

It has since inspired her to grounds a euphony album, unneurotic with 22 different artists, to assistance rise wealth for Southmead Hospital successful Bristol, wherever she was fixed her life-saving treatment. She said: "My euphony keeps maine happy, steadfast and is precise healing."