A Glasgow woman has had a four-inch tumour removed from her brain after suffering from migraines for more than half of her life.
Lisa Dumbiotis had been experiencing headaches from the age of 15 but last year started losing the feeling in her hands and see flashing lights.
After describing her symptoms to her local optician, she was seen the next day before being sent to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Just three days later, she had emergency surgery to remove a four-inch tumour that was causing pressure on her brain.
Lisa, from Shawlands, said: “It was just crazy. I still don’t know if I’ve come to terms with what happened. It was such a shock. It was a lot to get my head around. Having to phone my dad and tell them what they had found, was the hardest part – I could just hear his wee voice breaking on the phone.”
After surgery, the 38-year-old spent 12 days in the hospital, initially in high dependency before being transferred to Ward 67.
Lisa added: “A few days after the surgery, a nurse came in and wanted to wash my hair for me, to try to get some of the matted blood out from the surgery.
“But it was so tangled, she suggested shaving it instead. That’s when I got the idea to do everything to keep my hair and shave it off and raise some funds for the team that worked so hard to look after me.”
Apart from the site of the surgery, Lisa has retained her full head of dark hair, which is due to come off on February 13. Her fundraising efforts have already seen more than £1,000 pledged to the neurology endowment fund.
Lisa describes her hair as her ‘pride and joy’, but is happy to ‘shave it off and start again.’
Her son, Andreas, 12, and his friends are also pledging to get their hair shaved off as a mark of solidarity.
The greatest concern for Lisa and her family was the pathology of the tumour. Her grandad had died from brain cancer. However, the news was good.
“You obviously think the worst, you can’t help it, but it wasn’t cancer,” she added. “That was a huge relief. There will be regular scans and hopefully, it won’t come back.
“The entire hospital team have been absolute heroes from my surgeon to the nurses and the entire team. I really can’t thank them enough.”
You can donate to Lisa's fundraiser here.
