Whitehaven teen raises awareness after brain tumour diagnosis

Luanna Fox said she started having terrible headaches, double vision and was veering to the right as she walked in October, but says a doctor told her it was vertigo and prescribed anti-sickness medication.

But when mum Stacey Tunstall noticed that her 18-year-old's right eye was bulging out of its socket, she dashed to Specsavers in Whitehaven on January 6 and was referred to hospital.

There, Luanna had an eye test and a blood test and was referred for an emergency MRI.

But just 10 days later, Luanna's condition deteriorated so much she could no longer walk, so the mum-of-four demanded a brain scan that revealed three brain tumours.

The customer assistant underwent emergency surgery to remove them and drain fluid to relieve the immense pressure on her brain - later learning they were benign and she didn't need further treatment.

Luanna, who is on the road to recovery but still coming to terms with her diagnosis, is eager to share her story and raise awareness of the symptoms of brain tumours.

'I've never been so scared'

Stacey, of Whitehaven, said: "They basically said 'you're very lucky Luanna, if you didn't come down today, we wouldn't be having this conversation tomorrow'.

"The doctor said that the pressure was way too much and her brain wouldn't have coped for another 24 hours. It was very severe.

"All that time with that 'vertigo', it just shows that you should always get a second opinion because I don't even know how she even lasted that long.

"She had massive pressure on the brain, spinal cord fluids and everything.

"We found out that it was three tumours side by side, it was massive on the scan. I've never been so scared in all my life, I really thought I lost her forever.

"It was the worst feeling of my entire life. I couldn't cry because I didn't want her to see me crying but I thought she was going to die."

Luanna and her mum Stacey (Image: Kennedy News)

'Some days I couldn't open my eyes'

Luanna said that her symptoms developed last October and she visited her GP to have them checked out in November, and was told she had vertigo.

Luanna said: "I had such severe headaches, some days I couldn't open my eyes as they were so bad.

"I also had a loss of balance, double and blurred vision and when I walked, it was to the right-hand side.

"I lost sensation in the right side of my face, my sense of taste and I couldn't really do stuff like brush my teeth with my right hand, it was all jittery.

"I went to the doctor and they looked into my ears and said that they were fine but that I had vertigo.

"I was given a course of anti-sickness tablets and they didn't work so I went back and they said 'oh yeah, it's definitely vertigo' because my eyes fluttered during an eye test."

Stacey said that she'd been away from home looking after her father but that Luanna had been keeping her in the loop with her doctor's appointments.

But when she returned home, she noticed her eye was 'bulging out of her head', so sent her down to Specsavers to get it checked out.

She claims they advised her to go to the eye clinic at Cumberland Infirmary, where she had an eye test and was told that she'd have an emergency MRI scan.

The result of the brain scan (Image: Kennedy News)

Stacey said: "I waited for the referral for this MRI. She was getting worse at this point and kept phoning up Cumberland Infirmary and eventually got through on Friday morning and asked what was going on.

"She said if the referral hadn't been done, she'd do it today. I rang back at 5pm but [they were] gone.

"On Monday morning she was falling and couldn't walk. She couldn't stand up, something that day just wasn't right, I was scared.

"I phoned them up and said 'you get my daughter a brain scan today because I'm not moving from West Cumberland hospital until you look at her head, something's not right'."

Stacey got Luanna an appointment and within 30 minutes of having the CT scan, the pair were blue-lighted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

The scan detected she had a brain tumour and massive pressure on her brain, which was causing her eye to bulge out of her head.

'It's not even a mother's instinct, it's just common sense'

Stacey said: "I was scared that it was too late. But I knew we were in a brilliant hospital and got a bit of adrenaline back and wasn't crying anymore.

"I've never seen anybody look so poorly in all my entire life, how it got passed off for all that time is beyond me.

"It's not even a mother's instinct, it's just common sense - she was absolutely horrendous."

A post-op scar in the brave patient's head (Image: Kennedy News)

Luanna said: "When the doctor said I had a brain tumour it was a shock. I'm kind of the bubbly one of the group and never really get poorly either. I still don't think it's really sunk in yet."

After a six-hour operation, Luanna has been left with two incisions in her head - one made to remove the tumours and another to drain fluid and relieve pressure from her brain.

The pressure had become so severe, Luanna claims she was told it would have killed her in 24 hours.

The pressure has damaged nerves in her ears and she still can't hear properly, but otherwise is recovering well.

Stacey said: "A couple of the symptoms she had are dead giveaways of brain tumours, like walking to the right. She was just walking in the road as if she was drunk.

"I'd tell parents to go with their gut. That morning I felt like we were at the end of something, something was going to give that day I just knew it. She was a million times worse."

'The eye test saved my life'

Luanna said: "The brain tumours were ticking time bombs. It's weird to think that I've had that, been through it and am now on the road to recovery.

"That eye test at Specsavers saved my life. They were amazing, saw something was wrong and referred me straight away. I can't thank them enough.

"It was amazing to be told that the tumours weren't cancerous. We all cried and gave the surgeon a hug. I thought 'wow, they've just saved my life'. It was just a relief.

Post-op treatment following the surgery (Image: Kennedy News)

"I feel amazing in myself. I get a bad head but paracetamol takes it away.

"I have to learn to be back on my feet again and can't walk long distances, but I'm doing good and can walk around and do things for myself.

"If you've been through that, you just have to be positive and strong, and you know your own body - you've just got to go with that."

'We would always encourage patients to come forward'

A spokesperson from North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said: "We cannot comment on the medical care of an individual patient, however we can confirm that Miss Fox was referred to the Trust in January.

"She was seen within the expected referral timescales for the level of urgency and she received the care she needed.

"We would welcome the opportunity to review the detail with Miss Fox and her mother directly and we wish her well in her recovery."

The patient being visited by family (Image: Kennedy News)

A spokesperson for the Copeland Primary Care Network, who provided GP treatment in November, said: "We are very sorry to hear about this case.

"Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases, we would always encourage patients to come forward if they feel they have had a bad experience, this would be via the patient’s own GP practice.

"Patient concerns and complaints are investigated through a clear and thorough process within the NHS."

Adrian Hamilton, ophthalmic director at Specsavers Whitehaven said: "Luanna's story highlights why a routine eye test, at least every two years, is so important even if you feel you have no problems with your sight.

"We now have advanced technology that can help detect serious health concerns as well as diabetes, high blood pressure and glaucoma.

"The importance of eye health is something that we take very seriously here and we’re so glad to hear that Luanna is on the road to full recovery."

Luanna and her mother in hospital - on the road to recovery (Image: Kennedy News)

What is a brain tumour?

A brain tumour is a growth of cells in the brain that multiplies in an abnormal, uncontrollable way.

The symptoms of a brain tumour vary depending on the exact part of the brain affected.

Common symptoms include: headaches, seizures (fits), persistently feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting) and drowsiness, mental or behavioural changes, such as memory problems or changes in personality, progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body and vision or speech problems.