By the time his condition was diagnosed his brain was already swollen and he needed a string of operations
A grieving widow says doctors misdiagnosed her husband’s fatal brain infection 11 times – which she claims was initially dismissed as a “migraine”. Yujiao Chang, 35, says husband Qinghu Guo, 50, was seen by doctors at multiple NHS and private clinics over five weeks. But he only received a correct diagnosis after collapsing at home in front of their toddler.
Qinghu, who had no known immune conditions, was eventually diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis, a rare fungal infection that had already caused dangerously high brain pressure. He died in August 2024, leaving Yuijao to provide for their son. She has now launched a fundraiser, which has already topped £7,500.
Yujiao, originally from Zhengzhou, China but now living in East London, said: “I kept telling them it wasn’t a migraine. He collapsed five times. I had to drag him off the floor. Even when a private neurologist suspected meningitis, the hospital wouldn’t listen.”
A coroner later confirmed the condition was extremely rare and said a combination of its rarity and “medical confirmation bias” contributed to delays. He ruled that Qinghu’s lumbar puncture – the test that confirmed the diagnosis – was only performed on his 12th medical visit. By then, he had already suffered brain swelling and required emergency surgery at the Royal London Hospital.
He never fully recovered and died from complications in August 2024, after more than ten operations and eight months in a coma. Qinghu first fell ill in October 2023. Both a private GP and an NHS GP initially prescribed antibiotics.
His symptoms worsened, and he was referred to A&E, where he was diagnosed with migraines. Yujiao said: “At the beginning, we trusted the doctors. My son was born in that hospital. But no matter how much we said the treatment wasn’t working, they kept insisting it was just a different type of migraine.”
Repeated scans failed to detect any brain abnormalities. When Qinghu collapsed at home multiple times, Yujiao called 999 but each time she says paramedics saw his NHS file and followed the migraine diagnosis, sending him home. In desperation, they consulted a private neurologist who suspected meningitis and urged a lumbar puncture. Yujiao brought this diagnosis back to NHS doctors, but she says they refused to believe the private opinion.
She said: “Even after we had another expert tell them it could be meningitis, they said it was still just a migraine. That made everything harder. When the ambulance came, they saw a note in the system about the private opinion and still didn’t act.”
On the fifth collapse, the paramedic said he had already been discharged multiple times and arranged a video consultation. A hospital doctor saw his face via video call and immediately ordered an ambulance. That night, a CT scan revealed dangerously high brain pressure. A lumbar puncture was finally performed and confirmed cryptococcal meningitis – a diagnosis that came more than a month after symptoms began.
Qinghu was rushed into intensive care and underwent multiple brain surgeries. In December 2023, during junior doctor strikes, he deteriorated again and began vomiting and passing blood. Yujiao says no doctor came to see him and later that night, his heart stopped.
She said: “He hugged me and said: ‘Look after our son.’ Fifteen minutes after I got home, my boy woke up screaming, ‘No Daddy’. Then the hospital called to say his heart had stopped.”
Qinghu was resuscitated three times but never regained full consciousness. He briefly woke for three weeks, able to squeeze Yujiao’s hand and kiss her, before slipping back into a coma and passing away in August 2024. At the same time, Yujiao’s toddler son was diagnosed with a tumour and had to undergo two major operations.
She said: “I held him as he went under anaesthetic, then got a call from the hospital saying my husband was dying. I had to run between operating rooms.”
Yujiao says her son is healthy now, but doctors have warned he remains at high risk of developing another tumour. “At his last follow-up in December 2024, they found calcium deposits still in his body,” she explained. “They told me he’s not in the clear – he’ll need scans every six months until he turns 18. I have to watch him carefully. It’s something we’ll be living with for years.”
Yujiao’s stress was compounded by financial hardship, as she was forced to abandon a children’s project she had secured £1m in investment for due to her husband’s illness. As a result, she says she had to personally absorb all the costs of cancelling the project, which, with no income at the time and added to other expenses, led to her bankruptcy.
Yujiao poured her savings into legal fees, medical treatment, and basic living costs. “I went from running a small business to sleeping beside my son in the hospital,” she said. “I’ve lost my husband, my home, and nearly lost my child.”
With no family support and no access to benefits due to her visa, she was left to face it all alone.
“I don’t want charity. I just need time to get back on my feet,” she added. Yujiao is now rebuilding her life through livestreaming and photography. One of her grief videos has already reached nearly a million views on Chinese social platform Red Book.
The family has secured a solicitor and is pursuing a legal claim. A coroner ruled in January 2025 that Qinghu died from cryptococcal meningitis and noted that he presented 12 times across NHS and private care before a diagnosis was made.
The delays were attributed to confirmation bias and the rarity of the condition. The coroner did not identify failings by individual doctors. However, Yujiao said the first doctor to misdiagnose her late husband had ‘refused’ to listen to her concerns.
The NHS trusts have been contacted for comment.
Yujiao is now crowdfunding to cover legal fees and living costs.
To support Yujiao’s fundraiser, visit: https://gofund.me/2ac1693e