Two and a half years after former Liverpool footballer Dominic Matteo had a 10 hour brain surgery that saved his life, he is still learning to read and write again.
His wife, Jessica Matteo, has opened up about how his brain cancer diagnosis changed their lives. She said they now know "what's really important in life", and are closer than ever.
The 40-year-old said she "counts our blessings every day" and considers herself and her husband as among "the lucky ones". Now she and Dom, 47, are sharing their story to raise awareness about the disease.
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Dominic went to work for LFC TV one day in November 2019, when he came off air saying his head was "throbbing". Jessica was teaching a ballet class when he rang her after his scan at Calderdale Hospital in Yorkshire.
She said: “He told me, ‘They’re going to keep me in, they’ve found something in my brain, they think it’s a tumour. Dom was then blue-lighted to Leeds General Infirmary and Jessica drove to meet him there.
Jessica continued: “I just couldn’t take it in and went on automatic pilot to get to the hospital and took Dom’s elderly parents with me. When we got to the hospital Dom was in a wheelchair and couldn’t see. He was pumped full of steroids to reduce the swelling on his brain. All that had happened within 48 hours."
It was decided he would have an operation in two days, so they said goodbye to Dom. But as Jessica pulled up on her driveway, the hospital rang to say he had had a massive seizure.
She said: "They said they were doing everything they could and that I needed to be there. I turned straight back round and drove the half-hour back to Leeds, sick with fear as I had no idea what was waiting for me. I didn’t know if Dom would still be alive or, if he was, what state he’d be in. It still makes me cry when I think about it now.”
At the hospital, Jessica ran inside to find that Dom was still unconscious, and doctors were battling to bring him round. They said he would die unless they operated immediately due to immense pressure on his brain.
After waiting anxiously while her husband was in theatre for almost 10 hours, Jessica received "the best phone call of her life". The surgeon told her that up to 95% of the tumour had been removed and that Dom was "doing really well".
Dom was in hospital for three weeks and biopsy and test results revealed he had a large, very rare grade 3 (cancerous) brain tumour, a RELA fusion ependymoma, which is usually diagnosed in children. He underwent six weeks of radiotherapy and rang the bell to mark the end of treatment in February 2020.
Due to covid, he then faced an agonising wait of 11 weeks for a scan to show his tumour was stable as appointments were cancelled. Dom then had a long road of recovery ahead.
Jessica explained: “At first, Dom was frustrated and impatient that he couldn’t just jump on the treadmill and get back to normal. But he couldn’t even squeeze toothpaste on to a toothbrush and he’s still relearning how to read and write – Luca’s homework spellings are too difficult for him.
“His writing is better but he can’t read it back – it’s fascinating how the brain works.I’m not a very patient teacher at times and when my old headmaster got in touch after Dom’s diagnosis asking what he could do, I asked him to help Dom with his reading."
Through The Brain Tumour Charity, of which Dom is now an ambassador, the two were offered free relationship counselling to help them adapt to such a painful life experience. After being together for 20 years and married since 2018, the couple’s ordeal has taught them valuable life lessons which have brought them even closer.
Jessica added: “I feel blessed that we still have Dom with us and that he’s still the person I fell in love with. Others aren’t so fortunate as people can have a personality change after diagnosis and The Brain Tumour Charity’s relationship counselling service is an absolutely vital and wonderful resource.
“When your partner has a brain tumour, no one gives you a handbook about how to deal with it and the possible impact on your relationship.We count ourselves among the lucky ones and we’re sharing our story as we want to help others who haven’t been so lucky.”
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