Young Milton Keynes mum given worst possible news after wrong diagnosis of migraine
A 25-year-old mum who went to her doctor due to a feeling of pressure in her head has been given the worst possible diagnosis.
Paige Carter, from her experience of working in the children’s emergency department in MK Hospital, has found herself fighting the biggest health battle of all – the battle to stay alive and spend a few more years with her daughter.
She started getting strange headaches, with a feeling of pressure in her head, last year and couldn’t help being sceptical when her GP dismissed them as migraines.
It was only when she went to get her eyes tested that the first clue came – the optic nerve was swollen.
After this the GP, referred her for an MRI of the brain. But before this appointment came, two days after Christmas, Paige woke up with the worst feeling ever of pressure, so intense that she could not move her head,
A neighbour sat with one-year-old Willow and Paige’s friend drove her to hospital where doctors immediately ordered scans.
These confirmed there was a “mass” on the brain, whereupon Paige was blue-lighted to Oxford hospital to find out more detail.
After more scans, the doctors explained there was a tumour that was blocking the liquid in the head to move and this had been causing this pressure in my head.
"He believed my tumour had been inside my head for a long time (he couldn’t give an actual length of time) and said I was going to need an operation either to put in a shunt or to basically create pathways around the tumour to help the liquid to flow,” said Paige.
After six hours surgery, doctors were able to help the brain flow but sadly, due to the position on the tumour on the brain, decided that removing it completely was not an option.
Paige waited anxiously for the biopsy results and on January 6 her worst fears were confirmed. The tumour was not only cancerous but it was Grade 4, untreatable and terminal, the doctors said.
"Me and my parents didn’t understand... I’m so young. How can all of this basically come out of nowhere?” said Paige.
“My treatment is basically is make sure my tumour doesn’t grow any bigger. And to try to give me the best chance going in life.
"I have hope... I have found so many people in the world have the same thing and they have been living years.. I have so many good factors about me going. I’m young, healthy.. I’m kicking sugar out of my diet - everything I’m doing is to give me the best chance going.”
Paige’s friends have launched a fundraising page to give Paige and her daughter the best time together,
“This fundraiser isn’t about fixing what can’t be fixed. It’s about giving Paige and Willow the chance to make memories, feel joy, and live fully in the precious time they have together. It’s about easing financial worries so Paige can focus on what truly matters: love, laughter, comfort, and moments that Willow will carry with her for ever,” the page states.
You can view the page here.