A woman was diagnosed with a brain tumor after she had a blurry view while she was pregnant.
Abbie Keet developed the tumor the size of a golf ball and started to get eye problems when she was pregnant with her first child.
The 24-year-old said that after the birth of her son Hudson in August 2023 it got worse-and she would become blind every five minutes.
She booked an appointment with her local opticians, who suspected she had Papileeema – swelling of the optical disk – but hospital tests revealed that she had a large mass on the brain.
Mrs Keet later had a biopsy that confirmed that she had craniopharyngiome – a rare, non -cancer -like brain tumor that usually grows near the pituitary gland – and was booked for surgery to remove the tumor in February 2024.
Surgeons were able to remove the majority of the tumor, but because of the location they could not all remove it and Mrs Keet had to be tested every six months to check for any growth.
Although her symptoms started while she was pregnant, doctors told her that they did not relate to her pregnancy.
Mrs Keet, a stay at home mother of Bognor Regis, Sussex, said: 'I didn't really have a good pregnancy from the start, but in my second trimester my illness was terrible.
Abbie Keet developed the tumor the size of a golf ball and started to get eye problems when she was pregnant with her first child
Depicted is the brain scan of Abbie Keet that shows the tumor
The 24-year-old said it was worse after the birth of her son Hudson in August 2023 and she would be blind every five minutes every five minutes
'In my third trimester my eyes began to be funny – my vision became blurry.
“I am the birth of my son and my eyes got worse. I became blind every five minutes at a time. '
Mrs. Keet was transferred to the eye clinic in the Chichester Hospital, where she had further tests.
She said: 'The hospital called me within a few hours, they did more tests on me and sent me to the emergency floor.
“I had some blood tests and a CT scan. The doctor came back to the room and told me that I had a large mass on the brain. '
From there she was transferred to a neurosurgeon in the Southampton Hospital, where doctors said she had a craniopharyngiome – only needed a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.
In January 2024, Mrs. Keet went to the hospital for a biopsy, who confirmed her first diagnosis that her neurosurgeon gave her.
'When I was referred to Southampton for the first time, I became blind every few minutes and I was blind for longer.
'When the biopsy confirmed that I had a tumor, it was a sigh of relief that I knew what tumor it was and that it was good.
“When we got the news, it was a sigh of relief that it was not cancer -like, but I had a whole new concerns about the operation that I was preparing.”
In February 2024 she went for an operation to remove the tumor.
The operation lasted eight hours and doctors could not remove all tumor because of the location on its pituitary gland.
The mother said: 'My tumor pushed on my optical nerve, which was linked to my pituitary gland, so they had to leave the smallest amount, but they got the most out of them.
“I was there for eight hours, my pituitary gland died during the process, so I am on hormone replacement and I could go through the early menopause.”
After her operation, Mrs. Keet said she was struggling with recovery; Her wound continued to cry and in November 2024 she underwent more operation.
Displayed is Abbie Keet's biopsy tie after her operation
Surgeons were able to remove most of the tumor, but because of the location they could not remove it all and Mrs. Keet had to be tested every six months to check for growth
She will also have to go scans every six months to ensure that the tumor does not grow.
She said: 'I had to return to the hospital several times to have a wound cleaned up.
'I then underwent more operation to have my bone flap removed because of the infection. In November 2024 I became my last operation, which had mounted my metal plate.
“I have to go for a regular scan now because they are unable to remove all tumor because of the area in which the tumor was.”
Mrs. Keet said her diagnosis meant that she missed most of the early years of Hudson, and she wants to make up for lost time.
“This had a huge effect on us as a family,” said the mother.
'I missed the first year of my son growing up by spending a lot of that time in and from hospitals. My partner was left behind to take care of me while I took care of our son.
'My mother -in -law had to withdraw with us because I could not even be alone with him, because I could become blind any moment.
“I now come up with the lost time and spend as much time as possible with him.”
Catherine Fraher, director of services and digital health at the brain tumor charity, said: 'Thanks to Abbie for bravest sharing of her story to increase the consciousness of brain tumors.
'We know that every family deals with a diagnosis of brain tumors and its aftermath in their own unique way.
'That is why the charity of the brain tumor offers support to everyone who needs it. It is so important to them to know that they are not alone.
'You can find more information about our specialized teams by calling our support and information line on 0808 800 0004 or via our website – https://www.thebrintumourcharity.org/'
