When Ella Pick struggled to keep up with her friends during a girls’ holiday in Zante because she felt ill, she blamed her hangover.
But the 19-year-old’s world was turned upside down when doctors revealed she had an incurable brain tumour.
The check-out worker, from Boston in Lincolnshire, was heartbreakingly given a year to live.
Although there’s no proof her symptoms during her holiday to the Greek island last June were down to her brain tumour, similar ones are known to occur.
Miss Pick said she felt ‘off’ towards the end of a week-long trip to Zante with four of her friends to celebrate the end of college.
However, her symptoms worsened when she returned home.
Miss Pick said: ‘Everything kind of started when I went away with my girls to Zante for a holiday. It was amazing.
‘For the first two or three nights, I felt absolutely fine. We were all having the best time.
‘Then I didn’t exactly feel ill, I just didn’t feel myself. I wasn’t drinking as much or going out as much.
‘I thought maybe it could be a hangover. I just felt off. Now I look back and think I clearly wasn’t well.’
She added: ‘We got home and I felt absolutely fine then a week or so later I started getting severe migraines.
‘The pressure in the back of my head was awful. I’ve always suffered with migraines but never to that extent.
‘Then my left eye drifted inwards towards the middle of my face. I went for an eye test and they referred me to the hospital and said it was ‘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 if these were related to the tumour or not.
Doctors discovered a lump on her brain which was eventually diagnosed as a diffuse midline glioma.
The cancer is incurable and inoperable, with Miss Pick given an estimated 12 months left to live last July.
Diffuse midline gliomas, or DIPGs, typically strike children. The fast growing tumour can also occur in adults, too.
It grows in the midline, between the two halves of the brain, and kills the majority of those who get it within a year, the Brain Tumour Charity says.
It commonly causes problems with balance and walking, weakness in the arms and legs, difficulty controlling facial expressions, speech difficulties, problems with swallowing and chewing and double vison 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 working as cabin crew for British Airways.
She said she feels ‘numb’ since her prognosis and wants to make as many memories with her friends and family as possible with whatever time she has left.
Miss Pick said: ‘I just felt completely numb. It still doesn’t feel real.
‘Everyone else around me is hurting more than I am.’
She added: ‘They can’t exactly say how long I have because I can’t have a biopsy because of where the tumour is.
‘If I were to have a biopsy, they would more than likely paralyse me so they can’t exactly say how many months I have.
‘I’ve gone back to work and would just rather go on with life as normal. I’ve been on a few holidays with my family – we’re just trying to make the most of the time we have.’
She underwent a six-week course of radiotherapy last year in the hope of slowing the progression of the tumour.
Her latest scan revealed the tumour was stable and ‘not growing’ after the course of treatment.
Miss Pick said: ‘There’s always different trials with different drugs. I’d be willing to try anything.
‘You never expect something like this to happen at 18. It’s like a movie. It’s not actually sunk in even though I’ve known for nine months.
‘I’m just trying to get away as much as possible and stay positive.’
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
