Nikki Bennett, 41, woke up one morning in June last year feeling unwell but blamed it on her recently quitting her job and starting a new role working in a garage
A woman who received “scary news” after waking up with a severe headache was stunned to find she had a brain tumour “the size of a small orange.”
Nikki Bennett, 41, woke up one morning in June last year feeling unwell but blamed it on her recently quitting her job and starting a new role working in a garage.
But on one morning, she was prompted to speak to a medical expert after complaining of a a headache and a new symptom which concerned her.
She told the LiverpoolEcho: “It started with a headache in my temple. I’d had it previously, and I hadn’t felt right for a few months but I put it down to hormones.
“I’d quit my job. I was a lone worker and then I changed to working in a garage with people. I thought that would have been an issue. Then I woke up and had a little bit of a baggy eyelid, I went to the doctor and they told me to go to the local hospital.”
At the start, doctors thought it was a form of arthritis and after some treatment, Nik’s pain subsided and she drove back to her home in Abergele, North Wales. However, she returned the next day with a new pain.
She said: “I had a bit of an ache in my jaw. They said, ‘have you been to the dentist?’” Nik hadn’t, but both she and her husband Liam were convinced it was nothing to do with her teeth. Eventually Nik had a CT scan, which revealed she had a brain tumour the size of a small orange.
She was quickly referred to hospital where within days of the discovery she was booked in for emergency surgery. It was a grade one tumour, meaning it was not cancerous and is slow growing. Nik was calm when she found out about the tumour but it was still a difficult time for her and Liam. Nik said: “I’d had melanoma before. I knew I needed the facts and went on autopilot whereas Liam needed to throw up.”
After the tumour was successfully removed, Nik recovered on Cairns Ward. She was in The Walton Centre for a total of five days. She returned home but 10 days later began to feel the headache again.
She called the neuro-oncology specialist clinical nursing team, who told her to return to the hospital immediately. After further investigations, she was readmitted to intensive care, with what turned out to be meningitis.
Nik was “a mess” and suffered three seizures during this time. Liam said: “She doesn’t remember much. I was caring for her for a good month. She wasn’t very mobile. It wasn’t until the antibiotics started to work that she started sitting up properly. She’s amazing now but it’s taken a long time.”
Nik added: “It’s a scary thing. We had to go to the bank to put the account in Liam’s name. We had to have some difficult conversations.”
Nik spent over a month in the Walton centre during her second stay, and is now recovering. The neuro-oncology team at The Walton Centre have been developing an improved pathway for brain tumour patients in Cheshire, Merseyside and the Isle of Man, alongside the acute oncology nursing team at Whiston Hospital. It has been rolled out to seven Trusts, with work to embed this pathway in other areas, including North Wales, continuing.
Liam, who works at Stanlow Oil Refinery, stayed in The Walton Centre’s charity-funded ‘home from home’ relatives accommodation while his wife was receiving life-saving treatment. Inspired by this and the care Nik received, he’s hoping to raise over £5,000 for the next year, split between the home from home accommodation and the neuro oncology fund.
Liam said: “I knew straight away when Nik was in there the first time that I had to do something to raise funds. I stayed in the home from home accommodation. We’re about an hour and half away from the centre, and you can imagine driving there in a state of frenzy so it’s comforting to have that service there.
“We are super grateful to The Walton Centre and all the staff, Nik wouldn’t be here today without them. We owe them everything, this is why I’m doing what I can to give back.”
Liam will be starting his ‘zero to hero’ challenge with a marathon in Ibiza in April, a place he and Nik have visited every year since they’ve been together. He will then cycle 3,200 miles in June 2025 from their home in North Wales to The Walton Centre and back, which equals 136 miles over a 24 day period totalling 3200 miles.
In the UK, 19,000 people are diagnosed with brain tumours. Around 5% or 3,200 of these tumours are Meningiomas which is what Nik had. He will then finish the year and fundraising off by completing an Ironman in Tenby, September 2025.
Liam says the huge amount of effort involved will be worth it if they can help The Walton Centre and inform more people about brain tumours. He said: “I’m quite a driven person. I’m training six days a week. Doing the actual event isn’t daunting – all the hard work is now.
“I’ve asked for £5,000 but would like as much as possible. Brian tumours are not spoken enough. If we can raise awareness while raising funds, it’ll be amazing. I work in Stanlow and know how people in Liverpool are. They always get behind people.”
At the time of writing, Liam has raised over £1,400 for The Walton Centre Charity. You can find out more here and get updates from Liam via TikTok by searching @liamb1986.
