A young Edinburgh woman has spoken out nearly a year after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Georgie Frost, from Trinity, was suffering from what she thought were stress-related pressure headaches for months. But when she was woken up by a severe pain, her mum took her to hospital where medics would confirm a different cause.
In May last year, a month after her 23rd birthday, a CT scan proved the pressure and pain she had been feeling was in fact a grade one meningioma - a benign brain tumour.
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Speaking exclusively to Edinburgh Live, Georgie, now 24, explained how she had put the pains down to just the stress of being in fourth year at University of Stirling. However now looking at the list of symptoms on the Brain Tumour Charity site, Georgie recognises that she had many of them listed without even knowing.
"After seeing the scans, the doctors believe the tumour had been in there for about two years. The main symptoms I was having was really strong pressure headaches, tightness in the head, around the eyes. And as it got worse, I started to feel really sick a lot of the time but I just thought it was stress. I was in my fourth year of uni and was doing my dissertation.
"I thought the headaches would die down after I handed in my dissertation, but they got worse. I never thought of it until I got my eyes scanned and I had swollen optic nerves. Then a week later my headache woke me up in my sleep and mum and I went up to A&E.
"As soon as I got the scan, by the next day I knew what it was and I knew I was getting surgery. Suddenly everything made sense, it all just clicked and explained why I had been feeling that way.
Georgie praised the staff and treatment she received at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. She said: "It all happened within two weeks. I spent just under a week in the Royal Infirmary, I was in on the Tuesday, surgery on the Wednesday and discharged on the following Monday.
"But the doctors said that if it had been found six weeks later... it could have been a different story."
The psychology graduate explained how it took about six weeks to recover and luckily didn't have any major issues after, apart from a short delay in her speech for the first couple of days after surgery.
"I'm back to normal. It's been a really positive outcome, the only thing is that I can't feel the back-right of my head. I'm very lucky! Six weeks after I was able to graduate from uni which was incredible."
Speaking about her friends and family, Georgie thanks them for the strength they gave her through that time.
She added: "I can't imagine just how worried my mum would have been, but she was amazing, so strong. It was a worrying and stressful time for a lot of people. But for me, as soon as I knew what it was, everything made sense. Once I knew I was getting surgery, it went from being scared and worried to 'okay - let's get on with this, I want it out'. You don't really think of the bigger consequences.
"My family and friends were amazing. I can hands down say that if I didn't have them, I wouldn't have recovered as well, even from a mental health point of view. They were all so good at just reiterating the positives and being supportive."
Now Georgie wants to give something back and has gathered her friends and family to do a hike up Ben Lomond for the Brain Tumour Charity. She set up a Go Fund Me at 5pm on April 20 with a goal of £1,000 and in less than 24 hours, she had raised a whopping £1,936 and counting.
She added: "That's why I want to get everyone together for this, it affected everyone. It wasn't just a 'me' experience, it was an 'everyone' experience. There were so many people involved. Having a strong network is so important and it's the only thing that can help you get through it."
"I was so lucky it was the lowest grade tumour and the most benign it could be. But not everyone is and there is so much research still needing to be done. That's why this hike is so important, the charity is the front runner in research for brain tumours and I want to help doctors and the public have more understanding.
"The main reason I had such a positive outcome was because of research. I wouldn't have had a successful surgery or recovery without it. All the grants they give to researchers is so important."
Georgie will be hiking up Ben Lomond, which is 974 metres, on June 3 with a group of her friends and family. You can support her and Brain Tumour Charity on Go Fund Me.
If you or someone you know are affected, you can visit Brain Tumour Charity.
Got a story? Email katie.williams@reachplc.com
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