Katie Baker
Swapping heels for trainers
Fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity
Story
I still get a shiver down my spine my I hear the siren from an ambulance. I also still have to manage my anger when I walk into my GP surgery. And when my son hugs me a tightly before bedtime he always says; “You are the most beautiful Mummy in the world and I'm so happy with you and so happy you are always going to be here!” I get a lump in my throat. And it's nearly four years later.
Three years since I was blue lighted from Colchester General Hospital to Queen's Hospital in Romford six days before Christmas to hear my 15 months off ill health and misdiagnosed sinusitis by my GP was actually due to the hydrocephalus that nearly killed me caused by a haemangioblastma. A simple scan coordinated by my GP throughout the entirety of my umpteen visits in 2016 could have prevented a low grade tumour turning into an absolute catastrophe. But actually, that catastrophic event that genuinely left me feeling humiliated, worthless and not caring if I left that hospital miles away from home dead or alive. But throughout the five days I spent on Sahara B ward through small, but caring gestures by some of the kindest, empathetic people I have ever met it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Especially being told Christmas Eve I could go home to spend Christmas with my son. Consequently since volunteering for the Hospital as Patient Partner for Specialist Medicine, the service my life saving neurosurgery falls under, I have gone on to meet many more people who have found themselves on the same ward, some with very aggressive brain tumours, who all say the same thing that; “Sahara B are truly wonderful and I am so lucky to be treated by them”.
But it's not down to luck; it's down to their hard work, professionalism and tenacity. So running the London Marathon is not just about raising money for a very much need cure for the most horrific, debilitating cancer no one should have to face, or the fact I want to get the message out there; “… still not feeling well after seeing your GP? Do not accept that; GO BACK AND CHALLENGE THEM!”, but wanting to say thank you to a small group of people who made the biggest impact on my life.
Three years since I was blue lighted from Colchester General Hospital to Queen's Hospital in Romford six days before Christmas to hear my 15 months off ill health and misdiagnosed sinusitis by my GP was actually due to the hydrocephalus that nearly killed me caused by a haemangioblastma. A simple scan coordinated by my GP throughout the entirety of my umpteen visits in 2016 could have prevented a low grade tumour turning into an absolute catastrophe. But actually, that catastrophic event that genuinely left me feeling humiliated, worthless and not caring if I left that hospital miles away from home dead or alive. But throughout the five days I spent on Sahara B ward through small, but caring gestures by some of the kindest, empathetic people I have ever met it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Especially being told Christmas Eve I could go home to spend Christmas with my son. Consequently since volunteering for the Hospital as Patient Partner for Specialist Medicine, the service my life saving neurosurgery falls under, I have gone on to meet many more people who have found themselves on the same ward, some with very aggressive brain tumours, who all say the same thing that; “Sahara B are truly wonderful and I am so lucky to be treated by them”.
But it's not down to luck; it's down to their hard work, professionalism and tenacity. So running the London Marathon is not just about raising money for a very much need cure for the most horrific, debilitating cancer no one should have to face, or the fact I want to get the message out there; “… still not feeling well after seeing your GP? Do not accept that; GO BACK AND CHALLENGE THEM!”, but wanting to say thank you to a small group of people who made the biggest impact on my life.