A mum who was ready to plan her own funeral after being diagnosed with a brain tumour has now welcomed a baby girl into her family.
Emma Webster, 29, who also has a little boy, didn’t think she would ever have another child after doctors found a brain tumour behind her right eye in January 2019. In March 2019, Emma had an operation to remove 70 per cent of the benign tumour and struggled with headaches and balance issues for the next eight months before medication eased her symptoms.
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Despite her diagnosis, Emma gave birth to Izabella, now 10 weeks old, on 31st October 2022, weighing 7lbs 4oz.
Emma and her fiancé, Kieran McGurk, 32 - who already have a son Alfie, seven, together - are "over the moon" at their daughter's arrival. Emma has annual scans to check the growth of the tumour, and the couple plan to get married in 2024.
Emma, an administrator, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, said: “I don’t think about the tumour too much now I have a little baby girl to focus on. Alfie adores her. I’ve not been on medication for a year because I was pregnant.
“Sometimes I still get numb feeling on the side of my face and my eyesight is really bad on the right side.
“But I feel well enough in myself. But the tumour is not my main focus anymore.
“All my attention is on Izabella.”
Emma started experiencing excruciating pain in her tooth in April 2018 and went to see her dentist to see what was causing it.
Her dentist thought her pain could have been caused by her root canal - a surgery she was already due and brought the operation forward to see if it would help. “I had root canal surgery but that didn’t make any difference to the pain I was experiencing,” she said.
“Afterwards, I started experiencing numbness at the top of my mouth and on the tip of my nose. I went to see another GP who thought I had neuralgia and gave me medication for that.
“I was being treated for six months but it wasn’t helping at all, and my symptoms were getting worse, and I had blurred vision.”
In January 2019, after her symptoms persisted, Emma sought advice from a third GP who referred her to the neurology department at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland.
She went for an MRI scan and three days later she was given the news that she had a brain tumour in her right eye. “I was told it was benign, but I was ready to plan my funeral,” she said.
“I kept thinking ‘why me? What have I done wrong?’ I could only think of Alfie and what would happen to him if he lost his mum. Brain tumours run in my family. My nana, Alice, was just 55 when she died from a brain tumour in February 2001. My parents were so worried that the same thing would happen to me.”
Emma had on operation in March 2019, where surgeons removed 70 per cent of the tumour. Following the procedure, Emma, Alfie, and Kieran, a teacher, moved back in with her parents until she was able to become more independent.
“I was in and out of hospital for months after,” she said. “I had trouble with my balance and still had bad headaches.”
Eight months after her surgery she finally saw an improvement with her symptoms and has been able to buy a new home. Emma still suffers with root pain, vision lost and numbness but is able to look forward to her future and after the arrival of her second child, Izabella. “She’s amazing,” Emma said.
“I can’t believe I’ve now got to the stage I am not always having to be at the hospital but instead we bought our new home, I am getting married next year, and I’ve got a newborn. I never thought that would be the case back in 2019.
“I really wouldn’t have got through the last three years without such supportive family and friends. Kieran and Alfie have been beyond amazing,” she said. “They still amaze me to this day with how strong they have been while standing by my side.”
Emma is passionate about supporting brain tumour research and completed a five mile ‘Walk of Hope’ in September 2022 while eight months pregnant to raise funds.
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We’re really grateful to Emma for taking part in the Walk of Hope, as it’s only with the support of people like her that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like her who are forced to fight this awful disease.”
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