When Lizzie Traylor began to bump into thing she decided it was time for a trip to the opticians. She had already been suffering from double vision but then when her eyes turned outwards and she found she couldn't walk anywhere without crashing into things in her path she knew she needed to get it checked out.
But the 23-year-old had no idea how serious her problem was - for within weeks she found herself having to learn to walk and talk again after undergoing surgery to remove a walnut-sized brain tumour. And today - almost two years on - she is still working towards her recovery.
It was in April 2021 when Lizzie started suffering from double vision. But when her eyes turned outwards she visited her optician and GP,and she was referred to Lymington New Forest Hospital, Hampshire, for an MRI scan.
The scan found a 4cm mass in her brain and she was diagnosed with a grade 2 atypical meningioma. Lizzie underwent a 14-hour operation to remove the tumour which was growing on top of the brain stem.
The procedure left her unable to talk and walk. It took weeks for her to recover after the operation, and due to Covid-19 restrictions at the time, her mum, Debbie, 44, was only able to visit for an hour every other day.
Lizzie's first word after losing her voice was 'nosebleed' - which she said to doctors when she got one and was surprised by the sudden bleeding. She started walking with assistance towards the end of July 2021 and unaided by October the same year.
Lizzie, a talented artist, has started to create digital designs and is excited to pursue her passion for graphic digital art now she's on the mend.
Her mum, Debbie, who works in a care home, from New Milton, Hampshire, said: “Throughout her diagnosis, Lizzie has remained positive and so open in sharing her experience and raising awareness of it. After the operation to remove the tumour, Lizzie couldn't speak for around two weeks.
“The whole time Lizzie thought she was talking. She could hear me when I told her that nothing was coming out when she spoke, but it didn’t sink in.
"She would communicate by squeezing my hand. We were supported by a speech and language therapist and physiotherapist, and she slowly regained mobility.
"It wasn’t until Lizzie had a nosebleed that she started shouting 'nosebleed' and almost shocked herself and staff with the noise that came from her mouth."
She added: "It was tough, it was really hard - especially at the beginning when she was still in hospital and she wasn’t able to talk or anything. It was really difficult then. It kind of got easier as it went on and we sort of knew what we were doing.
"They let me stay with her for the biopsy, so I was in the room with her. After the main surgery I was allowed, during the middle of Covid, one hour every other day.
"At the beginning we spoke through the nurses when she wasn’t able to speak and I wasn't able to visit. When her voice came back, she had her phone and I would video call her so we could talk that way.
"I would say physically she's about 70 to 80 per cent recovered to how she was before."
Lizzie has now resumed her hobby of digital art. Debbie said: "Lizzie is a keen and talented digital artist, she loves doing all of that.
"She’s got quite back into that again, now her eyes have been sorted. That took a little while to come back.
"It's just for herself but she's really good at it."
Lizzie has also been granted her wish of becoming a dog owner. Debbie has rescued a six-month-old Husky puppy from Romania, which will be part of the family soon.
Lizzie said: "I've called him Hero. I can't wait."
Debbie has been involved with charity Brain Tumour Research to raise funds and awareness for the cancer. Debbie said: “In September I did the Walk of Hope to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research and Lizzie came along in her wheelchair.
"She’s been fortunate in her recovery. I want to raise money and awareness - we were lucky, but not every person is going to be as lucky as we were."
Lizzie added: "It's really important to raise money, because we need more surgeons to do this specialist operation. There was only one surgeon in the country able to do my surgery, so there needs to be more."
This month, Debbie is taking part in 10,000 steps a say challenge for the charity. To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Debbie’s fundraiser, please visit here
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