A Cheshire woman who suffered debilitating headaches that left her bedridden and blind in one eye claims doctors told her her symptoms were simply “severe migraines”.
But within six months, 25-year-old Tia Bradbury, who was five months pregnant at the time, discovered that these problems were actually signs of a brain tumor the size of a grape.
Now, having undergone life-saving brain surgery to remove the growth, he warns others to trust their instincts when it comes to worrying symptoms.
“I would always tell anyone that you know your body inside out and you have to keep pushing yourself until you are taken seriously,” she said.
“If I had quit and not kept coming back to the hospital, I probably wouldn’t be here now.”
Bradbury began experiencing migraines and “flickering” in his eyes in December last year and visited his GP, who told him he suffered from hemiplegic migraines, which normally cause changes in vision.
However, the prison official said the vision in his left eye was “getting worse every day” and he began to feel irritable, both warning signs of a brain tumor.
She soon began suffering two to three migraines a week, leaving her unable to get out of bed and sometimes unable to speak, all while she was 22 weeks pregnant.
Tia Bradbury began experiencing migraines and eye “flickers” in December last year, but claims doctors dismissed her symptoms as hemiplegic migraines.
In April 2024, the mother-of-two (pictured with partner Kyle Bloss, 26, and daughter Belle Bloss, 2) was shocked to wake up completely blind in her left eye and quickly made an appointment at Specsavers that day thinking I needed glasses.
In April 2024, Bradbury woke up horrified to discover that she was completely blind in her left eye.
He quickly made an appointment at the local optician, thinking he needed glasses.
But the optician explained that her left eye was not responding to light and urged her to go to the hospital.
However, even after going blind in her left eye, Bradbury says she had to “push” for an MRI as doctors were still “adamant” that she suffered from hemiplegic migraines.
An MRI two weeks later revealed a 3cm tumor in the center of his brain, which was pressing on his left optic nerve and growing rapidly, causing blindness.
‘My eyesight got worse and worse. “I was completely blind in one eye and my right side started to fail a little too,” she said.
‘It was quite sudden, he went from blinking to not being able to see anything. It was so strange.
‘I knew something wasn’t right because of the amount of pain I was in. No one should feel that amount of pain from a headache.
‘I noticed some personality changes. Everything irritated me. I wasn’t myself. I didn’t find joy in many things.
“They said it could be due to the pain he was feeling due to the tumor or the tumor itself, which can cause personality changes.”
According to The Brain Tumor Charity, more than 12,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with brain tumors each year.
An MRI revealed a 3cm tumor in the center of his brain, which was pressing on his left optic nerve and growing rapidly, causing blindness.
Headaches are the most common symptom, but vision changes, seizures, dizziness, tiredness, personality changes, and loss of taste and smell are telltale signs of a brain tumor.
Bradbury felt she was not “taken seriously” because she was a “young girl” who seemed to exaggerate her pain.
She admitted that she was worried about her pregnancy and how the baby would react to the anesthesia, but fortunately the May 2024 procedure was a success and the baby was “completely fine.”
After the 12-hour surgery, the tumor was removed and he regained his sight. But they still do frequent MRIs to monitor it.
For Bradbury, the hardest part of the surgery was how it affected her two-year-old daughter.
She said: ‘It was a very disconcerting moment because we didn’t know how he was going to react because I have a heart condition. It was just a terrifying moment.
“I was more worried that something would happen to me and I would have to leave my little girl and my partner behind. That was the worst part.
‘There are so many things that could have gone wrong. I just don’t know if anything would affect the surgery.
‘But we had a good support network, we made it through, which is good.
‘The whole family really stepped up and helped. My partner spent most days with me in the hospital and took care of our daughter.
Bradbury admitted that he “struggled” with his appearance after surgery, as he had half his head shaved and had a “huge” scar on his head.
Now the mother says she has no migraines or pain and has a different view of how short and precious life is.
‘My little girl was more affected after the surgery because she spent a lot of time with her grandparents. When she saw me, they didn’t let her play with me, they didn’t let me pick her up, she had no energy.
She was probably very confused about the whole thing. But everyone was very supportive and also helped her through it.”
Bradbury admitted that he “struggled” with his appearance after surgery, as half of his head was shaved and he had a “huge” scar on his head.
“I felt very confused afterwards. I was very surprised because it changed my appearance. “They shaved half my head and I had a big scar that ran all over my head,” he said.
“I really struggled with that, I’m a very young girl and that really affected me.” “It was a big change that I didn’t really prepare for.”
The mother now urges others with similar symptoms to “trust their instincts” and see a doctor.
She said: “I would always tell anyone that you know your body inside out and you have to keep pushing yourself until you are taken seriously.”
‘If I had left him and not kept coming back to the hospital, I probably wouldn’t be here now.
“It wasn’t long to process the information, it wasn’t great, I wish they had taken me a little more seriously.”
Now, Bradbury says he has no migraines or pain and has a different perspective on how short and precious life is.
The Hospital Trust and Specsavers have been contacted for comment.