A woman’s half-face has been paralyzed after surgery to remove a brain tumor caused her to have a stroke.
Samantha Taylor, 25, has a problem with monthly dizziness since her teenage years, which would wake her up in the middle of the night.
When she consulted with a doctor, an MRI scan showed a small tumor in her brain at the age of 18. But doctors didn’t operate because they thought the mass was not cancerous and her symptoms were minor.
Ms. Taylor, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, goes to checkups every six months to monitor the present development of a tumor.
But her symptoms remained as it is, and medics changed her appointments to just one per year in 2014.
When she thought everything is ok now, her dizziness came back four years later, causing her to have blurry vision and terrifying head rushes.
The financial officer, underwent brain surgery in June to remove the tumor – which had grown to over 2.2cm.
According to doctors, a possible stroke during surgery left her with facial paralysis on her right side. She is now struggling to eat or drink properly. She was also temporarily blind during the procedure.
Ms. Taylor said: ‘I was really apprehensive about the risks of surgery and whether I would be the same afterward.
But I really liked my surgeon and had full confidence in him which made a huge difference.
‘I had surgery in June 2019, where they think I may have suffered a cerebellum stroke as part of my brain didn’t get any blood supply during surgery, and that does explain why my right side is much weaker.
‘After my surgery, I couldn’t see at all for a few days. This is much better now as it only happens when I look left and right and I have been given glasses with a prism to help with the double vision as I currently see two of everything.
‘Due to my facial paralysis, I couldn’t eat properly, use a straw or blow out a candle until recently. The more movement I get in my cheek, the easier it is to do these things.’
‘I first had a dizzy spell when I was 14, and then again at 15. These were considered one-offs, but when I was 18, they started happening monthly until my surgery.
‘They would only last a few seconds but would always be in the early hours and wake me up.
‘I would wake in the night to a head rush and spinning walls. I was monitored for five years with MRI scans every six months from 2013 to 2014, then annually until 2016.
‘I was due to be discharged in October 2018, but that final scan showed that the tumor had grown to 22mm.
‘I was shocked because although I had been told I might need surgery one day if it ever grew, I was due to be discharged and therefore thought that for the doctors to consider doing that then the chances of it growing were slim. I wasn’t expecting the news at all.’
She added: ‘I had a lot of physio in the weeks following my operation and part of that was simply putting a key in the door and carrying a cup of tea a short distance with my right arm as I couldn’t do these things at first.
‘I physically couldn’t use an escalator until a few weeks ago. They were so fast; it was brain overload.
‘I had a physio session dedicated to mastering one and went up and down one until I was confident.
‘I think living in London, not being able to use one was such a hindrance as it meant I wasn’t able to get anywhere as every tube station has one.’
Ms. Taylor created an Instagram account to document her journey and she wants to inspire others who are suffering from brain tumors.
She said: ‘I want people to be aware of my story and to push not to be discharged even if they’re told they have a slow-growing tumor that hasn’t changed yet.
‘This could be lifesaving. I was very lucky mine grew in that last scan, but if it didn’t it would have grown to a point that made me very poorly and would have been much riskier to remove.’
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