A mum was devastated to discover her "pregnancy headaches" were actually a brain tumour.
Dominique Nicholson had a three week old newborn, Erin, when she was given the heartbreaking news that her severe headaches - which she claims were dismissed for months whilst pregnant - were down to a grade 2 atypical meningioma brain tumour.
The 32-year-old from Leicester underwent surgery to have 95% of the mass removed just weeks after giving birth.
She was so frightened that she even wrote goodbye letters to her young daughters, Erin, now two, and Freya, now six.
The mum-of-two said she was left feeling numb at discovering the real reason behind her severe headaches, but that maternal instinct to watch her daughters grow up kept her determined to survive.
After undergoing craniotomy surgery in July 2019, she is now in recovery and has yearly checks.
Dominique, who is sharing her story to raise awareness, said: "I had headaches when I was pregnant with my first daughter, Freya.
"So when I had headaches with Erin, I wasn't concerned, I assumed it was a mix of the stress of having a young child, working, being pregnant and generally tired.
"I mentioned my headaches to my midwife around five times, but she agreed there was no cause for concern and I assumed once I had given birth they would ease."
However, after Dominique gave birth the headaches continued to get worse.
She said: "I was emptying the dishwasher and as I bent down, the pressure behind my eyes was intense and I fell to the floor in agony.
"My head was throbbing and when my husband, David, now 31, came home we went to the hospital."
Dominique, a licensing conveyancer, was sent for a CT scan but couldn't process the diagnosis.
She said: "Erin was just three weeks old and I expected to be told it was severe migraines.
"When the doctor explained it was a mass on the brain, I was in shock and very scared.
"My first thought was my girls. I had to see my daughters grow up.
"It was my maternal inner strength that got me through the surgery - my biggest fear was not waking up."
Dominique wrote goodbye letters to her daughters before undergoing craniotomy surgery to remove all but a small percentage of the tumour which was wrapped around a major blood vessel.
She said: "I spent a lot of time sobbing in hospital.
"I needed to put things in place, so I wrote letters, arranged godparents and thought about things to help David if something went wrong in surgery.
"I distracted myself as much as I could, preparing things for Dave in case I wasn't there."
Thankfully the surgery was a success and without complications and Dominique was able to go home soon afterwards.
A biopsy revealed it was a grade two atypical meningioma.
She added: "I was diagnosed, operated on and home within seven days.
"There was a bit left attached to a blood vessel that was too dangerous to move but as I was breastfeeding Erin doctors knew that my recovery would be quicker at home.
"I needed to be with my family."
Dominique was left with a 21cm scar across her forehead and down the right-hand side of her face.
She said: "The scar was so much bigger than I expected and I tried to hide it from my eldest and bought headscarves.
"The scar was mentally hard to come to terms with and I can still feel the scars now.
"I also saw a counsellor as it was a lot to deal with.
"I spent a long time hiding inside when my face was at its worst, but gradually I made little outings to regain my confidence.
"I consider myself to be so lucky and I am grateful to be alive.
"I now have annual scans to check if the tumour has come back.
"It is worrying to think it may come back and that does cause me a lot of anxiety if I get a headache."
The married couple have been together for 14 years and are looking forward to celebrating their 10-year wedding anniversary later this year.
Now the family are focused on raising as much awareness - and funding - as possible.
She said: "The Brain Tumour Charity is incredible and I just want to get as much awareness out as possible.
"I am running 130 miles to represent the 130 types of brain tumours that exist.
"I am very lucky to have been treated so quickly and I don't like to think about what could have happened if I didn't.
"I want to warn everyone - but especially mums and expectant mums not to put their own health last.
"You know your own body and what is normal and if something isn't right push for answers.
"My headaches were ongoing, I felt sick and I was forgetting things. If that sounds like you, please go to your doctor."
This is Dominique's third year of challenges and this year she will be completing two Olympic Triathlon distances.
