A SHIRLEY dad has told his story of surviving surgery to remove a brain tumour as he gears up to take on an adrenaline challenge for charity.
Marcus Elwell put his feelings of exhaustion and personality changes down to his busy life as he approached his 40th birthday.
But when his symptoms persisted and when he started to lose his peripheral vision and became unsteady on his feet, he returned to the doctor.
Now 41, Marcus, a former rugby player for Woodrush Rugby Club, said: “18 months before I was diagnosed with a brain tumour, my relationship broke down and I turned to mindfulness and meditation which really helped me in my mental wellbeing.
“I began to feel worse and worse but couldn’t put my finger on what it was and as I increased my mental practices, I put my symptoms down to turning 40 and thought that maybe this is what ageing feels like.
“Thank goodness I did because I was sent for an MRI scan which revealed I had a low-grade haemangioblastoma brain tumour.”
When the rare benign tumour was discovered by medics at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, he was told its location meant his speech and mobility could be impaired by surgery.
But after just three-and-a-half hours in surgery, which took place in May 2021, Marcus came round, able to move his limbs as before and was speaking to staff members from his hospital bed.
He said: “The reality of being diagnosed with a brain tumour hit me when I was in intensive care. I was very aware of my surroundings and what I had been through and it made me realise that things could have ended very differently.”
Marcus said he made videos for my three children aged 12, nine and seven to watch on their 18th and 21st birthdays which his sister filmed, for fear that he wouldn’t make it through the surgery or he was handed a terminal diagnosis.
Within 48 hours, Marcus, who runs a property company, was home from hospital and needed no further treatment.
He is now monitored with regular scans.
Marcus said: “I’m planning to take on an adrenaline challenge to fundraise for Brain Tumour Research and to help keep the conversation going around brain tumours.
“My story is positive, but I am aware that others aren’t as fortunate and I want to do what I can to help those living with their own diagnosis.”
For more or to donate click here and put Marcus Elwell in the message section to donate to his challenge.
