Britt Jones
Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.
A woman found out about her terminal cancer diagnosis after a freak accident involving a suitcase and her head.
They say the world works in mysterious ways, and this might just be one of those times where one seemingly unconnected event has a knock-on effect.
For Lauren Macpherson, 29, it was just an average day as she was traveling back to Cardiff in Wales, UK, from a music festival during August last year when a heavy 2.5 stone suitcase dropped on top of her head from above in the overhead lockers.
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The case caused so much pain, that she was rushed to hospital with fears it could have damaged her spine.
But when she was given a CT scan, she was given a shock diagnosis, and told she’d live between 10 and 12 years.
Lauren, who said the brain tumor was like the ‘floor just drops from beneath you’, told the BBC: “It’s like the floor just drops from beneath you, you don’t know what to do. It’s horrible.”
She said: “As he said it, I just knew, because I’ve been having all these symptoms building up, especially over the last two years, and it just clicked.
“There is an instinct inside you, and when you have been feeling unwell, it just all made sense.”
However, there were signs before the suitcase incident.
Lauren revealed that she mistakenly believed she had ADHD due to suffering from fatigue, poor memory, stomach pain, headaches, and emotional dysregulation.
The scan and subsequent biopsy revealed she shad oligodendroglioma and was told the average life expectancy was around a decade.
Lauren has since been raising money for the charity, Brain Tumour Research via her Just Giving donations page, and has raised nearly £3,000 as she dedicates herself to walking 10,000 steps a day.
The short time isn’t deterring Lauren from living her life, as she explained she is now planning a wedding to boyfriend Zak and a 30th birthday celebration in Italy.
But among it all, she said she has felt for her family the most.
She explained: “The whole thing has been hard for me but for family, it’s almost been harder for them. I think everyone always says ‘I wish it was me not you’ but I could really see it with them, constantly the pain in their eyes, because they wanted it to be them not me.”
Lauren added: “It was really, really, hard, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, having to deal with that.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.