A woman says her facial disfigurement is a "badge of honour" after undergoing a "disaster operation" to remove her brain tumour. Maggie McMartin, 70, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in May 2005 after experiencing forgetfulness, exhaustion and dizzy spells.
While working in a call centre, Maggie had realised she kept asking people on the phone to repeat what they said and was so tired she was having to take naps in her car at lunch. Maggie was taken to hospital - where an MRI scan revealed a mass on her brain.
She had the tumour removed in 2005 but required surgery afterwards to lift her face after the surgeon cut through Maggie's nerves during the procedure - leaving her deaf in one year and with a drooped face. Maggie from Port Charlotte, Isle of Islay, in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland, said: "The operation to remove the tumour was a disaster.
"The surgeon cut through some nerves, which meant the left side of my face drooped and my eyes wouldn’t shut. When my daughter, Fiona, 40, saw me, she was sick and said: 'What have you done to my mum?'.
"It took me three days to look in the mirror, and when I finally did, I broke down in tears. When my family came to see me, I saw the looks on their faces.
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"It took me a long time to accept what had happened to me, but my family tell me my face is my badge of honour." Maggie - who has three adult children, Fiona, Mairi, 43, and Calum, 45 - first noticed something was wrong after she started getting dizzy spells and being sick in 1998.
Her GP treated her for labyrinthitis - an inner ear infection that affects balance. In 2004, Maggie was working at a call centre when she realised she kept asking people on the phone to repeat what they had just said.
Maggie said: "I just couldn’t retain any information. At lunchtime, I felt so tired that I had to have a sleep in the car.
"When I returned to the centre, I couldn’t pick up my pen. I knew something was happening and I felt really scared.” Maggie was taken to hospital where an MRI scan revealed a mass on her brain.
She was later diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma - a type of non-cancerous brain tumour - in May 2005. She had the tumour removed but needed surgery afterwards to lift her face.
Maggie said the operation was a "disaster" after the surgeon cut through some of her nerves which caused one side of her face to drop and her unable to close her eyes. Maggie said: "There’s not enough awareness of brain tumours and it is vital that more research is done to find a cure for this horrible disease.”
Maggie has raised over £7,500 for Brain Tumour Research. The hospital trust has been approached for comment and the surgeon in question is no longer allowed to practice in Scotland.
