A woman who woke up after brain surgery with no memory of the previous seven months is sharing her story to help raise awareness of brain tumours.
Karen Eggleston’s grade 1 olfactory groove meningioma was discovered after she suffered a seizure at home and went into cardiac arrest in June 2020. The shocking discovery was made after brain scans were carried out to check for any damage sustained whilst her brain was without oxygen.
When Karen (pictured left with her daughter Heather) ‘came to’ a week after having a craniotomy, she had no memory of the seven months leading up to her collapse, including the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other things in the months prior, such as the UK’s change of prime minister.
She said: “People refer to life events as feeling like they’ve had the carpet ripped out from under them; well, I’d lost the carpet, the floor and everything else beneath me.”
Having been given the news that she was ‘all-clear’ just before Christmas, Karen has now turned her attention to helping others and is working with Brain Tumour Research to raise awareness of the disease. She has reached millions by sharing her story with BBC News Online and Mail Online, and during interviews on BBC South East and BBC Radio Kent.
She added: “I want to do what I can to help raise awareness of brain tumours as well as raise funds towards researching the disease so fewer people will have to face having their lives turned upside down, like mine.”
If you would like to share your story to help raise awareness, please contact our PR team on media@braintumourresearch.org