Anne Murdy, 55, from Parkgate, was diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumour in March.
The devastating news came after the mum-of-one had suffered two bad falls a few months previously and had been going backwards and forwards to her GP with a range of different symptoms, including changes to her voice, swallowing, unsteadiness and urinary issues.
She recalled: “The past two or three years I’ve just thought I’ve been getting old really quickly. When I turned 50 I was feeling really good and healthy. But over the past two years I’ve had aches, pains and was worn out.
“But it was in August last year where I had an unexplained fall at Tesco’s car park. I fell flat on my face and bled profusely. Thankfully, I was helped by three young people who saw what happened. I convinced myself I must’ve tripped over something, as I was in a hurry to collect my daughter, but something didn’t seem right about it.
“They wanted me to phone an ambulance but I said no, I just wanted to get home.”
After her fall Anne – who has a 15-year-old daughter Star who studies at Lockerbie Academy– noticed her voice had become huskier and she wasn’t able to sing, which she has a passion for. She also found she would weep uncontrollably, even when she didn’t feel sad. She then became forgetful and had difficulty finding words sometimes.
Anne added: “I had gone to my GP a couple of times about my voice and crying for no apparent reason.
“I went to see my GP again at the start of December who told me the symptoms could be hormonal as I was approaching the menopause, and he gave me antidepressants.”
Anne, who is a registered nurse at Thornhill Community Hospital, suffered another bad fall later that month when she was cooking and smacked her head on the worktop, ending up at DGRI for treatment.
In January, in light of her recent fall, Anne made a second trip to her GP, where she also discussed the fact her antidepressants didn’t seem to be working and that something wasn’t right.
“My voice problems were getting worse and I was also having difficulty swallowing. The following week I saw an osteopath, who noted nystagmus, a vision condition which was causing my eyes to make repetitive, uncontrolled movements. He told me to go back to my GP, which I did, later that month.”
Anne was referred urgently to the neurology department in Dumfries and was subsequently sent for an MRI scan, which revealed a large meningioma tumour, close to her brain stem.
She said: “I suspected they must have found something in my brain, when they took me out of the scanner after 20 minutes to inject me with contrast dye. As a nurse, I knew this was to enhance the MRI images, as they must have detected something.
“Prior to that, my main concern was that I was developing multiple sclerosis. It never crossed my mind that I had a brain tumour. I hadn’t experienced double vision, headaches or hearing problems.”
Anne received her results from the neurologist on March 2 and had her first meeting with the neurosurgeon at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh a week later.
She said: “My initial thoughts about the diagnosis was it was a relief as I knew something hadn’t been right for a long time. I don’t know if the enormity of it has hit me yet.
“I had a couple of episodes where I was very upset. Life was flashing in front of me. I wanted to do so much more in my life, I wanted to see my daughter Star go to university and see what happens with her in her life. It was terrifying that I might not be around for them kind of milestones. I was gobsmacked and it all happened so quickly.”
She added: “It was heartbreaking telling our daughter but we tried to make light of the situation by naming the tumour Malcolm. Naming the tumour has helped us talk about it more.”
Anne was back in hospital in Edinburgh the day the country went into lockdown on March 23 and was told there was a ten per cent chance she wouldn’t survive the surgery.
“Saying goodbye to Star and John before the surgery was an awful experience. In the back of my head I thought this could be the last time I see them. It was a very emotional time,” she said.
The operation lasted ten hours with surgeons successfully removing some of the tumour but not all due to how close it was to the brain.
After ten days recovering she was able to return home: “I’ll never forget the moment I woke up from surgery. I was worried it could have an impact on my memory or make me a different person but I knew as soon as I woke up I was the same person,” she said.
“I was able to talk to family and friends on video calls which really helped during the days in the hospital. Coming home and seeing Star and John again was such an emotional moment.
“It was brilliant to get home. Star and John have been amazing helping me with everything. It has been a stressful time for Star with exams but she passed so we’re all delighted.”
Anne continues to recover well from surgery but has been left with double vision, ataxia and left sided facial numbness and is now awaiting the results of her post-op scans. She has been told she can’t return to work for at least a year.
In the meantime, she is keeping herself distracted by organising a fundraising event to help find a cure for the disease.
She said: “When I heard about Brain Tumour Research’s ‘Do Lunch’ campaign, I knew it was something I wanted to be involved in.
“It is Star’s 16th birthday at the end of August and we always have a big family get-together.
“This year will be slightly different, but we’re still hoping to have a socially-distanced gathering of friends and family in the garden with a buffet and some music.
“Raising some money for this fantastic cause at the same time will be the icing on the cake.”
To register for Do Lunch! go to www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/do-lunch
