“I couldn’t feel the right-hand side of my face”: Bedford mum-of-two tells of shock brain tumour diagnosis

Katie Stratton was a happy, healthy mum-of-two when she was diagnosed with a benign meningiomas brain tumour in 2019, aged 29.

She had even been on holiday the week, soaking up the August sun on a family holiday to Haven with her two children Finley, now 15, and Emily, 10.

But after returning home to Bedford and getting ready for her sister’s birthday a few days later, Katie, now 35, said she “took a funny turn.”

“I couldn’t feel the right-hand side of my face, my right arm and right leg”, she said. “I was panicking and decided to phone an ambulance because I couldn’t really walk properly.”

Doctors diagnosed Katie with a benign meningiomas brain tumour and operated within a matter of weeks to remove it, but she says she still lives with symptoms.

Katie said: “On a good day I can go to the shop and dance around the house – I love my dancing. I have a lot more energy on a good day. I feel more able to do things – like different activities with the kids, meet my friends, go for a coffee or to different groups.

“Headway Bedford has really helped me. I’ve been going there for two years now, and it’s helped me realise that the struggles I face are OK and there are different ways to work around them.

“I’ve even done cooking sessions there, which has helped with my confidence, as well as singing sessions. They have a singing group on zoom, and we’ve all got brain injuries, and that really helps connecting with others.”

Katie is one of many highlighting the gap between what you can do on a good day versus a bad day to mark Action for Brain Injury (ABI) Week which runs until Sunday (May 25).

On a particularly difficult day she faces fatigue, achiness, headaches, and struggles with her concentration and memory.

“On a bad day I tend to stay in my bedroom more and try to sleep. Anyone would look at me and think ‘yeah you look fine’, but they don’t see the days I’m in bed or when I’ve got a headache.

“Life can get busy with two kids, so I have to write everything down, so I don’t forget anything.”

You can watch Katie’s film here

Colin Morris, director of communications at Headway, said: “We can’t thank Katie enough for sharing her story and being part of this year’s campaign.

“She is not only raising awareness of brain injury, but also of survivor’s good days and bad days – helping others to see both sides of brain injury."

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