A woman who went to the doctor with menopause symptoms said she was left "numb" after finding out she had a brain tumour.
Margaret Rose Campbell, who until recently worked as a receptionist at Templemore Sports Complex in Derry, also spoke of her two days spent waiting on a trolley at Altnagelvin A&E before her diagnosis.
The mother-of-four from Derry, who will be 56 at the end of March, discovered she had a brain tumour on January 13 following a trip to A&E with jitters, palpitations and vomiting.
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She had first sought medical treatment back in October with various symptoms - including memory problems she attributed to "brain fog" associated with the menopause.
"I knew something was wrong at that time," she told Belfast Live. "My memory was bad but I was putting it down to brain fog, which is a common thing associated with the menopause."
She encountered difficulty securing an appointment to see a GP. She said: "I rang every day. This was in October."
After eventually securing an appointment, she was given hormone replacement therapy - a common treatment for menopause symptoms.
In December, she was given an antibiotic to treat what were thought to be sinus issues.
But in the new year, things took a turn for the worse and she was forced to seek emergency care.
"I went to A&E because I wasn't well," she said. "Now, I had the ongoing symptoms for vertigo, sinuses and the menopause. A doctor had put me on HRT patches but this night I was taking palpitations. I was in bed and I was starting to get afraid. I was lying on my side, then the other side, I would sit up and then lie down flat. But the palpitations weren't stopping. My heart rate was 108 - very high for someone lying in bed, resting.
"It was maybe about two in the morning. I woke my husband and said 'you're going to have to take me to A&E'. So John took me over but by the time I got there I really wasn't well. I was very jittery - I could barely hold my mobile phone."
She continued: "They did blood tests and whatnot. I started to get really sick, vomiting. It turned out I was really low on sodium, low on potassium, and I was really lucky that I got the right doctor.
"He said he would give me a CT scan. The month before, I had three antibiotics for sinus infections, but the antibiotic they had given me was making me really sick. So I was really dehydrated."
She endured a two-day wait at Altnagelvin Hospital's Emergency Department, at a time when A&Es across Northern Ireland were under unprecedented pressure.
"I was lying on the trolley at A&E for two days," she said. "That really was a nightmare - the vomiting, oh my God. After the two days I got a bed. I was very lucky because I got the CT scan. Have you seen the waiting lists for CT and MRI scans? People are waiting a long time.
"The doctor came to me and said 'I've got something to say to you, something has showed up, do you want me to tell you now or do you want your family'. I said 'I need my husband'. On Friday the 13th in January - I'll never forget it - my husband John came over and I was told I had a brain tumour."
She added: "I just went numb, I really did. What that consultant said to me is that someone up there is looking after you because no GP was going to send you for a CT scan for sinus pain.
"Being low in sodium is a symptom of a brain tumour, so I got the right doctor in A&E. It can cause swelling in the brain. I was so lucky. Have you seen the waiting times for a CT scans and MRI scans?"
Following further scans and hospital appointments, she underwent brain surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on February 6.
She is now facing a lengthy period of treatment including chemotherapy for what has turned out to be a particularly rare and aggressive glioblastoma.
She is now due to travel to Belfast in order to access specialist neurology services.
To help pay for the cost of accommodation and travel, an online fundraiser has been set up by her family with a target of £5,000.
More than double that amount has already been donated.
Margaret told Belfast Live she has been "overwhelmed" by the generosity of people.
"People in Derry are just brilliant. I was reading through the comments and the tears were streaming out of me."
She also spoke of how much she misses her work colleagues and thanked them for all of their support.
She is speaking out now to help raise awareness around brain tumours.
"There were so many young people in the hospital, you wouldn't believe it," she said. "It can happen to anyone."
The online appeal can be found by clicking here.
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