An Edinburgh dad has gone through two failed surgeries after he was found to have a deep growth inside of his brain.
Ben Brady, 56, was first diagnosed with a brainstem cavernoma in 1999, after what he thought was a facial palsy turned out to be the abnormal cluster of blood vessels.
Although originally medics believed the growth was operable, two attempts in 2000 and 2004 caused serious side effects and were unsuccessful. Now living with the condition, Ben told Edinburgh Live that the cavernoma can bleed every four years or so, having a serious impact on his health.
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The dad-of-two said: "I have cavernomas all over my body but the one that has the most impact is the one on my brainstem. Every three or four years it bleeds and causes something to go wrong in the body.
"I had a facial palsy on the left side and I assumed it was Bell's palsy but I went in and they said no it's serious so I had a scan and they told me I had a tumour.
"They realised it was a cavernoma and they said they could remove it but they failed, it's very deep and hard to get at. I had an operation down south but it came back straight away then I had one at the Western General but it came back again.
"It's had a massive impact, at the time I was full-time in the Christian Ministry and because they said the operation would be successful I thought I would just get it and carry on but that wasn't the case, so my health has been deteriorating since then.
"The first operation had quite a few side effects on my head, numbness and strange sensations in my head due to them cutting nerves."
With his balance and energy levels affected on a daily basis, Ben also suffers from partial blindness in one eye and occasional seizures.
On daily medication for head pain and eyedrops to prevent further infection, Ben shared he desperate to get back to his favourite pass time of cycling, which he often did with his wife.
However, the balance problems have meant that he has been unable to get on a bike for some time due to the risk of falling.
Ben added: "It affects my body so my balance goes, it's got to the point now where I can't cycle safely anymore, I can get moving but if stop I just fall off. The balance is all the time, it worsens as the day goes on."
In the hope of getting back out and spending time with his wife in the fresh air, Ben has launched a fundraiser to help the family afford a tricycle that will allow him to balance.
He said: "I used to love cycling and me and my wife would go out along the coast easily and cycle to South Queensferry, we did that a lot for several years but I fell off too many times and it became impossible, so this is a really great option."
After launching the fundraiser for the bike, Ben has since seen over half of his target met, with donations totalling up to around £545 so far.
Overwhelmed with the support, he added: "It's amazing really, I didn't expect that, I just sent my story into GoFundMe and so much money came in.
"I can't run now, I can't walk far or without a stick so cycling will just be amazing."
You can donate to Ben's fundraiser here.
