I thought I was just drunk when I fell over on a night out – but the reality was devastating
WAKING up with an egg-shaped lump on her head, Jenni Richmond immediately began to regret the extra glass of wine she had drunk the previous night.
The mum-of-one had been enjoying a sunny afternoon of drinking with her friends before popping into her neighbour’s party for a few more.
But when the customer analyst, then 45, crossed the street to head back to her home in Chertsey, Surrey, she tripped and banged her head on the pavement.
Putting it down to the wine, Jenni dusted herself down and embarrassingly hurried inside hoping she had gotten away without anyone seeing.
“I really didn’t want to go to hospital as it was late, so I just went to bed feeling a bit sorry for myself,” she remembers.
It was only when a huge lump appeared on her head the next morning that her husband Dave insisted she had it checked out.
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Jenni says: “He was adamant that I went to see a doctor and check it wasn’t a concussion.
“I just thought I had a small hangover, a bit of a headache, and other than the big lump on my head, it was nothing too serious.
“In fact, I took my daughter to a party first, then went to A&E at St Peter’s Hospital - mainly to keep my husband happy.
“But as it turned out, I am so glad I did.”
Doctors sent Jenni for a CT scan as a precaution and discovered a lump on her brain, which was later confirmed to be a low-grade meningioma.
“It was a complete shock. I had absolutely no idea – I had no known symptoms whatsoever,” she says.
Jenni was referred to St George’s Hospital in south London and put on a watch-and-wait treatment programme following the diagnosis in 2015.
The location of the tumour would have made it difficult to operate at the time and radiotherapy wasn’t thought to be worth the level of risk it came with at that stage.
Jenni was told about by her medical team but she said it would be beneficial for her as well as other people if services were flagged up right at the beginning.
She adds: “I wasn’t told about the organisation when I was diagnosed which may have helped to answer all of the questions we had at the time.
“It was tricky to keep everything going for my family and the expert advice could have helped with that.
“My daughter was so young when I was diagnosed and she thought I was going to die.
“Understandably, she had a lot of anxiety around that and I felt very guilty.
“Fortunately, she’s great now - we’re both pleased to be back to our regular routine and doing the simple things, like the school run.”
Jenni is sharing her story in support of The Brain Tumour Charity, as part of Brain Tumour Awareness Month this month.
Alex Lochrane, Chief Executive at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “This Brain Tumour Awareness Month is a really important opportunity to highlight the need for progress on brain tumours and that we all stand united in defeating the devastation they cause.
“We are so grateful to Jenni that she is sharing her story to help raise awareness of the disease.
“Like her, many parents can find it difficult to know what to tell their children when they have been diagnosed with a brain tumour or to manage their fears.
“Our Children and Families team offer specialised support and we have a series of animations aimed at children to help them understand a parent’s diagnosis and treatment in an age-appropriate way.
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“While Jenni didn’t have any significant symptoms before her diagnosis, for others the common brain tumour symptoms can include headaches, nausea and changes to vision or cognition.
“Brain tumours are relatively rare, but it is important to recognise the possible signs, and if symptoms are persistent or you have several of them, we’d encourage you to see your GP.”