A woman has shared her horrifying ordeal after her “blurry vision” during pregnancy was actually caused by a golf ball-sized brain tumour. Abbie Keet’s condition only worsened following the birth of her first child, Hudson, as she started temporarily losing her sight for 30 seconds every five minutes.
Luckily the 24-year-old from Bognor Regis in West Sussex sought help from her opticians who urged her to go to hospital. A biopsy revealed she had craniopharyngioma, a rare and benign brain tumour typically found near the pituitary gland.
She was scheduled for surgery in February 2024 to have the tumour removed. The operation was partially successful; surgeons managed to extract most of the tumour but couldn’t completely remove it due to its tricky location.
Now, Abbie must undergo biannual tests to monitor any growth of the remaining tumour. Despite the timing of her symptoms, doctors assured her that the tumour was not related to her pregnancy.
Reflecting on her ordeal, stay-at-home mum Abbie said: “I didn’t really have a good pregnancy from the start, but in my second trimester, my sickness was awful. In my third trimester, my eyes started to go funny – my vision was going blurry.”
The situation grew more severe post-delivery, as she recounted: “I gave birth to my son, and my eyes got worse. I was going blind for 30 seconds at a time every five minutes.” In January 2024, Abbie underwent a biopsy procedure, which validated the concerns of her neurosurgeon.
Abbie noted: “When I first got referred to Southampton [Hospital], I was going blind every couple of minutes, and I was blind for longer. When the biopsy confirmed that I had a tumour, it was a sigh of relief that I knew what tumour it was and that it was benign.”
“When we got the news, it was a sigh of relief that it wasn’t cancerous, but I had a whole new worry about the surgery that I was preparing for.” Her surgery spanned an extensive eight hours.
Despite the challenging circumstances, due to its delicate position on her pituitary gland, surgeons managed to remove the majority, though not the entirety, of the tumour. “My tumour was pushing on my optical nerve, which was linked to my pituitary gland, so they had to leave the tiniest amount, but they got the most out that they could,” said.
“I was in there for eight hours, my pituitary gland died in the process, so I am on hormone replacement, and I could go through early menopause because of it.” The recovery process was difficult and she endured persistent problems with her wound, which led to additional surgery in November 2024.
To ensure the tumour remains contained, she will now need to undergo biannual scans. Detailing the post-operative complications, she explained: “I had to return to the hospital multiple times to have a wound cleaned out.”
“I then underwent more surgery to have my bone flap removed due to the infection. In November 2024, I then had my last surgery, which was having my metal plate fitted.”
Despite attempts to remove it, not all the tumour could be taken out due to its location. Now, Abbie has to attend regular scans for monitoring. The diagnosis and subsequent treatment took a toll on her family life.
“This had a massive effect on us as a family,” she admitted. “I missed my son’s first year of growing up due to spending a lot of that time in and out of hospitals. My partner was left to care for me while taking care of our son.”
Due to her health risks, she couldn’t even be left alone with her child. She said: “My mother-in-law had to move in with us because I couldn’t even be alone with him, as I could go blind at any moment. I am making up for lost time now and spending as much time as I can with him.”
Common symptoms of a brain tumour are listed by The Brain Tumour Charity as:
- Headaches
- Changes in vision
- Seizures
- Nausea and dizziness
- Tiredness
- Loss of taste and smell
- Cognitive changes
- Communication problems.
For those seeking further information or help, you can call the charity’s support and information line on 0808 800 0004 or visit thebraintumourcharity.org.