A mum who thought her dizzy spells were a sign of menopause discovered she was actually suffering from a serious brain condition.
Vicky Aspey, 47, started experiencing light heads and headaches that wouldn't go away with painkillers earlier this year. The mum-of-four, from Pensby, was sent for an MRI scan which revealed she had hydrocephalus.
The condition is a build-up of fluid in the brain and can be fatal without the necessary treatment. Vicky's sister, Kate, told the ECHO : “She was suffering with loads of really bad dizzy spells and headaches.
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"She just put it down to the menopause so she went to the doctors and they sent her for an MRI scan. They called her straight away and said: ‘you’ve got fluid on your brain’. It can be caused by a head injury but she’s apparently had it since birth. It’s very debilitating and she’s worried they might take her driving licence off her."
Vicky has Asperger's and, as a single mum, has been working as a cleaner to help provide for her four children, all of whom are autistic. However, the severity of her symptoms has forced Vicky to leave her job, and Kate, 42, said she's "scared" how her sister will manage to feed her kids and heat the house as the cost-of-living crisis continues to mount.
Kate said: "She went to the hospital the other day and there’s two types of brain surgery they can do but they both come with really high risks like brain damage and strokes. Vicky's had to give up her job and has relied on food hampers being sent from church and school and stuff."
In a bid to help Vicky out, Kate set up a GoFundMe page to raise some extra funds for her sister. She said: "I haven’t got loads of money to give her and obviously everyone is struggling at the minute and I just thought I’d try this.
"Even if she could just get a couple of hundred quid, it would pay some bills. I would love to get enough to send her on a break somewhere because she hasn’t had one in years and she deserves it."
The page has already raised hundreds of pounds and Kate couldn't be more grateful to everyone who has dug deep to help her sister. She said: “We’re really close now and I’m very protective over her. I’m just so shocked and overwhelmed that people who don’t even know her want to donate.
"She really is an absolute sweetheart and she really deserves something good to happen to her."
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