A racing car champ has opened up about how he was given a devastating diagnosis after headaches turned out to be a life-threatening brain tumour.
Rally driver Barry Barrable, 54, began suffering from migraines last September but did not think it was serious.
After attending his GP, he was given a course of antibiotics for a suspected ear infection but when the headaches persisted, Barry was sent for a scan that revealed some worrying results.
Just a few days later the Dubliner, who now lives in Stamullen, Co Meath, was undergoing major surgery by the neuro team at Beaumont Hospital where a 5cm glioblastoma brain tumour was found in his right temporal lobe.
He said: “One day I was on my way to work to sell cars and within a few days I was on a theatre table having major brain surgery.
“A tumour in the brain never even came into my vocabulary in all of my life, it was a shock to the system.
“You never think something like this will happen to you, it’s your worst nightmare.”
With little research into tumours here, Barry is fundraising in case he needs to get more advanced treatment abroad, with any unused funds going to Brain Tumour Ireland.
He added: “There is little or none on the tumour side of research in Ireland apart from the brain bank in Dublin.”
- For more details on fundraising, search Help Barry Beat His Brain Tumor on GoFundMe.
