A woman, whose sister's seemingly harmless "pins and needles" turned out to be cancer, has shared her story to warn others of unusual symptoms.
When Lydia Carfrae-Brohaska first began experiencing tingling in her extremities, she thought nothing of it.
But the symptoms rapidly spread to her legs and eventually she struggled to use the left side of her body.
Tragically, in August 2018, doctors confirmed the worst: cancer – with Lydia given just 12-18 months to live.
She battled on for two years but on May 22, 2020, aged just 36, she passed away – with her mum, Vicky, her husband Stu and sister Carrie Carfrae by her side.
Her sister has been left heartbroken but has opened up about the painful experience to warn others of unusual cancer symptoms – and share a loving tribute to her "soulmate".
"I would rather have had 36 years with Lydia than a whole lifetime with any other person – even though the pain of losing her is so hard to bear," said Carrie, a musician.
"She was, and will always be, my soulmate; my one love in the truest, purest sense of the word.
"She fought and showed incredible courage; never once missing an appointment, never once giving up hope, never once saying, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore – it’s too hard’.
"Lydia achieved so much in her last two years.
"She kept living, travelling, meeting friends, having fun, she continued to make memories – she is and always will be an inspiration to us all."
Lydia, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was diagnosed with stage 4 Glioblastoma – an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer.
Over 20 months, she underwent numerous rounds of gruelling chemotherapy and radiotherapy, all of which were carried out in the US [the Brit was based in Texas at the time].
Lydia, who was a qualified solicitor, also had access to pioneering treatment which is currently not available on the NHS, known as Optune treatment.
The novel "tumour treatment" uses an electromagnetic field to treat cancer and is widely available in the US and Germany.
In 2019, after months of vigorous treatment, Lydia began showing improvements and decided to go finally go on a belated honeymoon, a cruise along the Panama Canal, with her husband.
Sadly, the joy was not to last when in April of the following year, doctors discovered a new tumour in her brain.
Carrie said: "Her doctor knew that there was no more time.
"We were heartbroken and couldn't believe this was the beginning of the end."
Carrie and Stu made it their mission to get Lydia back home to the UK to live her final months surrounded by her friends and family.
Within 24 hours [of news re the new tumour], they had booked flights, packed and sorted their apartment, where soon, they travelled from Houston to Heathrow in the first class cabin, so they were able to bring their little dog, Pompey, with them.
Carrie said: “It was a huge relief when she arrived home and Lydia's doctors had warned she would start deteriorating rapidly, so there was only a small window of opportunity when she would be well enough to fly home.
"We set up a day bed in our conservatory so that she could see the garden and chat to friends through the windows.
"We played card games, watched TV, and talked about so many things. We were truly blessed to have this precious time together."
On Friday, May 22, 2020, Lydia passed away peacefully with her family by her side.
A small glimmer of light in the tragedy came from her passion for raising money for charity and for the NHS, which she continued doing until the very end.
Her family have since continued her legacy and set up the Lydia's Wish foundation – raising a total of £15,000 for Brain Tumour Research UK to help fund critical research.
Carrie says her sister will be with her for the rest of her life and hopes to make her proud.
She added: "Lyd was truly the best sister I could have asked for, our love for each other was deep and unconditional.
"It is incredibly important to us all to raise both awareness and funding into research for brain tumours so that other families do not have to endure the suffering which we all have.
"Lydia lived her life with grace, very good humour and love, right until the end.
"Her presence will guide my life as a force of good and I will make her proud of me, just like I was, and always will be, immeasurably proud of her."
