A mum who was given a week to live after doctors found a tumour on her brain says surgery saved her life. Harriet Annabelle Ward struggled with moment of dizziness and exhaustion, but never dreamed that the culprit would be a tumour growing for over a decade, instead putting it down to stress.
The 51-year-old had even been examined once in hospital, two years prior to her diagnosis, but the tumour was missed. When her health declined dramatically – with Harriet struggling to form complex sentences when speaking, feeling exhausted, dizzy and with a bloodshot eye – she was rushed into hospital, where an MRI scan uncovered the truth.
“They told me they had found a 7cm brain tumour across the left side of my head,” said Harriet, a singer from Bristol. “If untreated, they said I would have died in my sleep. I was in shock, but I was very focused on what they were going to do and hoping it would all go well. I was very driven to still be here and survive.
“I was at a point where the pressure of the brain tumour was so severe that I couldn’t think or talk properly. I was very friendly and active [before] so I just wanted to get well and go home.”
Harriet was diagnosed with a grade two Meningioma brain tumour, and her husband, Christopher, was told she had just a week to live. The only way to save her life, doctors said, would be emergency surgery to remove the growth. Harriet’s three children – Amaryllis, Islah and Noah – were aged five, 10 and 15 at the time, and the mum was terrified that she might not live to see them grow up.
She said: “The doctors weren’t sure I’d make it. Before they put me to sleep, I said to one of them, ‘I’d love to see my children again’.”
Luckily, her wish was granted, and she woke up from the 14-hour surgery to find out it had been a success. She was left with a heavily swollen left side of her face from the bruising and trauma to the area. Harriet said: “I never took photos until a few weeks post-op as I was black and blue.
“I looked swollen where they cut from ear to ear.“I was in shock.”
ince the operation in November 2021, Harriet had “very intense” radiotherapy treatment for six months, and has since been slowly recovering at home with her family. She said of her ordeal: “I was dying to see my children – they visited me in hospital and I was desperately wanting to be at home with them.
“I felt they would be lost without me, so I knew I needed to get through this. The doctors felt radiotherapy was necessary as it was such a huge tumour, and hopefully won’t regrow. It’s been a hell of a journey but every day it’s incredible to be here with my family.
“You really do love more for today after going through something like this.”
The near-miss inspired her to record a music album, together with 22 other artists, to help raise money for Southmead Hospital, where she was treated. She added: “My music keeps me happy, healthy and is very healing.”