When Ella Pick struggled to keep up with her friends during a girls’ holiday in Zante, she blamed her hangover.
But the 19-year-old’s world was turned upside down when doctors revealed she had an incurable brain tumor.
The cashier, from Boston, Lincolnshire, was heartbreakingly given one year to live.
Although there is no evidence that his symptoms during his holiday on the Greek island last June were due to his brain tumor, similar ones are known to occur.
miss choice He said he was feeling “bad” towards the end of a week-long trip to Zante with four of his friends to celebrate the end of university.
Ella Pick, 19, said she felt “unwell” towards the end of a week-long trip to Zante with four of her friends to celebrate finishing university last June, but attributed it to her drunkenness and partying. .
He began experiencing severe migraines upon returning home before his left eye turned inward.
However, his symptoms worsened when he returned home.
Miss Pick said: ‘It all started when I went with my daughters to Zante on holiday. It was incredible.
‘For the first two or three nights I felt absolutely fine. We were all having the best time.
—So I didn’t exactly feel bad, I just didn’t feel like myself. I didn’t drink as much or go out as much.
‘I thought maybe it could be a hangover. I felt bad. “Now I look back and think it was clearly not right.”
Miss Pick, pictured with her friend on holiday, said she had an amazing holiday but was feeling ‘unwell’
Now he remembers his vacation in Zante and knows that he was not feeling well. At the time she thought it was just a hangover.
She added: “We got home and I felt absolutely fine – then about a week later I started getting severe migraines.”
“The pressure on the back of my head was terrible. I have always suffered from migraines but never to that point.
‘Then my left eye drifted towards the center of my face. I went for an eye exam and was referred to the hospital and said it was a “major concern.”
Miss Pick was rushed to hospital after a particularly severe migraine in the shower.
Although Miss Pick had experienced migraines for several years, it is not known whether they were related to the tumor or not.
Doctors discovered a lump on his brain that was eventually diagnosed as a diffuse midline glioma.
The cancer is incurable and inoperable, and Miss Pick was given approximately 12 months to live last July.
Diffuse midline gliomas, or DIPG, usually affect children. The rapidly growing tumor can also appear in adults.
It grows in the midline, between the two halves of the brain, and kills most who contract it within a year, says the Brain Tumor Charity.
It commonly causes problems with balance and walking, weakness in the arms and legs, difficulty controlling facial expressions, speech difficulties, problems swallowing and chewing, and double vision or problems controlling eye movement.
It can also cause nausea, fatigue, and headaches.
Following her diagnosis, Miss Pick was forced to turn down an interview for her dream job as a British Airways cabin crew.
She said she feels “stuck” since her prognosis and wants to make as many memories as possible with her friends and family with the time she has left.
Miss Pick said: ‘I felt completely numb. It still doesn’t seem real.
“Everyone around me is suffering more than me.”
He added: “They can’t say exactly how much time I have left because I can’t have a biopsy because of where the tumor is.”
‘If they did a biopsy on me, they would most likely paralyze me, so they can’t say exactly how old I am.
After a CT scan and MRI, doctors discovered a lump in his brain that was later identified as a diffuse midline glioma in the brainstem.
The cancer (shown on the scan) is incurable and inoperable; Miss Pick was given approximately 12 months to live in July last year.
Miss Pick is now trying to make memories with her friends and family. Last year she underwent a six-week radiotherapy treatment in the hope of slowing the tumor’s progression.
‘I’m back at work and prefer to continue with my normal life. I’ve been on holiday with my family; we’re just trying to make the most of the time we have.’
Last year he underwent a six-week radiotherapy treatment in the hope of slowing the tumor’s progression.
His latest scan revealed that the tumor was stable and “not growing” after treatment.
Miss Pick said: “There are always different trials with different drugs.” He would be willing to try anything.
‘You never expect something like that to happen at 18. It’s like a movie. It hasn’t really sunk in even though I’ve known about it for nine months.
“I’m just trying to stay away as much as possible and stay positive.”