An Irishman has lost his sight after he was diagnosed with incurable cancer.
Monaghan man Stephen took sick after experiencing pain in his neck, for which he was prescribed anti-inflammatories.
A month later, after running some tests, doctors diagnosed Stephen with a stage 4 tumour on the stem of his brain.
He was told his form of cancer was incurable and Ireland, and so with the help of his mum Jean, Stephen began to research alternative treatments abroad.
They found an available treatment from brain stem tumours in the US costing over €300,000.
Jean told RSVP Live they initially thought the pain Stephen was complaining about could have been caused by lifting heavy bags while at work.
She said: "Stephen had slight pains in his head and a stiff neck. We took him to the doctor, and they gave him anti-inflammatories. He worked in a chipper, so he done the heavy lifting of bags of potatoes, so we thought he just pulled something in his neck."
However, in December, Stephen's health deteriorated, with his eyesight becoming more strained.
The pain became so bad that Stephen spent the night of his 18th birthday in A&E but was again sent home with anti-inflammatories.
Jean said they returned to the hospital in early January, but doctors were still unable to explain the cause of Stephen's illness.
She said: "They couldn't find anything wrong with him, they were thinking of sending him home with another month supply of anti-inflammatories.
"We went back up to the waiting room, and at that Stephen took a seizure at A & E. We waited there for a few hours, and they told me to go home as he would have to stay over."
Jean and Stephen received the devastating news that a large mast was found on his brain the next day.
Stephen was admitted for a seven-and-a-half-hour surgery, and surgeons were able to remove 50% of the tumour successfully. A week later, he underwent a second surgery which lasted for nine hours and resulted in 95% of the tumour being removed.
"Stephen had 19 and a half hours of surgery in total.
"They called us up the following Wednesday, and they told us Stephen's cancer was incurable and that they couldn't remove the last 5% because it was on the stem of his brain."
In Ireland, the only option available to Stephen was chemo and radiotherapy, but the results left him searching for other options.
"He would have to go through chemo for five days for six weeks, and after a couple weeks, he was going to lose his memory and his behaviour, and they said it was going to be harder on me than it was going to be on him because he wasn't going to know me.
"Stephen asked was he going to die, and they said, 'I can't tell you you're going to die, but your life is going to be short'.
Jean added: "So, I went home and researched Germany, Chicago, Texas, Boston to see if there was anyone out there that could help me."
Jean and Stephen secured consultations in Chicago, Boston, and Texas but decided to opt for Texas as they knew another family whose son had positively responded to the treatment there.
Jean said: "It's €300,000, and we need to raise the first €120,000 to get out there so we can start treatment.
"The treatment entails several medications and possibly a small bit of chemotherapy. It's a targeted drug test which includes your DNA and your genetic test to see what is the best option for Stephen's brain tumour."
Jean and Stephen have been through a lot in the last year after Jean lost her mother to a drunk driver and her brother to suicide last Christmas.
She said: "When the guards came to the door saying my mam and my brother were gone, I couldn't change it, but I can put up the biggest fight in the world I have for my baby as long as I have him."
Stephen has now lost his eyesight and the feeling down his left side as a result of his illness which now leaves him with a chance of being left disabled if he undergoes radiation treatment.
"I don't mind his eyesight or his disability as long as he has his mind, I can't risk him losing his mind, then still having cancer and then still dying."
"Our whole world if turned upside down and I just can't bear the thoughts of losing him."
If you want to support Stephen, click here .
