I was diagnosed with a lump on my brain at 35 weeks pregnant after years of caring for children with brain tumours

Emma Griffiths, 26, was 35 weeks pregnant when an MRI scan uncovered a pilocytic astrocytoma tumour after she had suffered brain-splitting headaches throughout her pregnancy.

Removal of the tumour – normally found in children – usually cures the patient however Emma now had life-threatening brain compression or hydrocephalus just five weeks from her due date.

After giving birth via cesarean section five weeks early, on August 4, 2022, the nurse underwent brain surgery to remove the tumour just five days later.

Now, fully in remission, with healthy two-year-old daughter Evelyn, Emma is planning a 14,000-foot tandem skydive raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity.

Speaking about the experience Emma, of Belper, said: “I had been having really, really bad headaches from about 16 weeks and everyone thought it was hormonal.

"I’d been to A&E and to the GP numerous times and then the night I went into hospital I woke up in the middle of the night and was sick everywhere.

"My vision went and I fell over so we went to A&E (Chesterfield Royal Hospital) where I was being sick constantly."

"They said there was a mass at the back of my head so when they said that I kind of panicked because there’s this really specific tumour you can get at the back of the head that’s terminal and is the worst one you can get.

"Me and my husband just went silent, he was crying, I was just sat there in shock and then we got rushed straight to Sheffield (Royal Hallamshire Hospital) in an ambulance.

“I felt like my stress was going to affect the pregnancy so I was trying to stay calm. It was a very uncertain time.

“I felt a bit better knowing she (Evelyn) was more developed because I’d initially gone to A&E when I was 20 weeks and I dread to think what would have happened then.”

After arriving at Royal Hallamshire Emma had the fluid drained from her brain while doctors deliberated, deciding to do the c-section on August 4 and the brain surgery five days later.

Speaking about the wait for surgery after having given birth, Emma said: “They gave me the weekend to bond with her and it was kind of daunting.

"It was a lovely experience, she was in the incubator because she was early and it was a lovely experience to spend that time with her.

"But I kind of just wanted to get it over and done with as there was that uncertainty. So it was difficult to spend that time with her and then worry that I might not be there.”

On August 16, six days after surgery, Emma, husband Josh and their baby daughter were discharged from hospital.

A follow up scan in December revealed some residual tumour, however a second bout of surgery in April last year removed the final traces.

Ironically, at the time of her own surgery Emma had worked for five years caring for children with brain tumour diagnosis.

She said: “It was kind of a blessing in disguise because I kind of knew what was going on, so it helped me calm down.

"There were a lot of memorable moments that I won’t forget but working in that job helped me with my own experience, thinking back to taking kids aged four or five for MRI scans."

After her own experience, Emma took a different job as a community nurse.

She said: “With everything that happened to me it felt a bit raw to go back to, I would have felt a bit too emotive looking after the patients because my tumour is a childhood tumour and I’ve treated a lot of kids with that tumour.”

To celebrate her survival Emma is undertaking a 14,000 ft tandem skydive in Nottingham raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity.

Speaking about the challenge, she said: “I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat and have always put it off but when this happened I thought, well I nearly didn’t get the chance.

"It’s something I always wanted to do and because it’s for charity it will push me into doing it.”

Anyone wanting to sponsor the jump and do so by clicking here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/emma-griffiths-1709155852816?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Femma-griffiths-1709155852816&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=pfp-share&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2maIMmpDXM7dggHhoWh1PDZ8he2lwgRo3WkrQ3WikawichbCL0E_HsdFc_aem_J8CLmHmxRJvamVVk6JqRXA