Forweeks,
David
hadbeen
suffering
from
headachesSweet Jude keeps
me going...Herhear
brokenbutCorinne
Hynes,
27, from Middlesbrough,
has found comfort from
fivetotal strangers
M
y fiance David’s
face was so pale,
he looked
practically green.
‘Have you got
another one of
those headaches?’ I fretted.
David, 26, nodded miserably.
I dug out some painkillers,
got him a glass of water.
It was July 2016 – and for
weeks now, David had been
suffering from headaches.
With me for six years, he was
normally a healthy, upbeat guy.
‘Are you worried about
anything?’ I asked.
He was a welder, normally
enjoyed his job.
David shook his head. ‘I’m
probably just a bit run down.’
Over those next weeks,
though, the headaches kept
coming. I tried not to worry.
David and I had talked
about getting married one day,but first we wanted a baby.
Only, two months later, in
September 2016, David was
working away in London when
I got a call one morning from
one of his colleagues.
‘David’s on his way to
hospital,’ he said.
He’d got one of
his headaches, but
this time he was
dizzy and pulling
weird faces.
Those next
hours waiting for
David to call me
were terrifying.
I pounced as my
mobile rang.
‘Doctors just reckon it’s
stress,’ David said.
I wasn’t convinced. So when
he returned from London two
days later, I urged him to book
an appointment with our GP.
The GP referred him ton
The James Cook University
Hospital’s Stroke Unit in
Middlesbrough, where he
underwent a brain scan.
We were petrified.
But a stroke wasn’t what the
results showed.
‘We’ve found a tumour on
the left-hand side of your
brain,’ the doctor told
David. ‘We’ll try to
reduce the swelling,
then operate to try to
remove it.’
Devastated, I
couldn’t help but
worry that it was
cancer. For now,
doctors weren’t sure.
‘We’ll deal with
this,’ I promised.
David’s operation was
booked for November, just two
months away.
But those next weeks were a
challenge. Doctors needed to
bring down the brain swellingfirst, and admitted David for
treatment. But he started
suffering multiple seizures, so
they had to induce a coma.
Thankfully, they were able to
stabilise him with medication
and steroids brought down
the swelling.
Within a week, he was able to
go home and rest before the op.
Then, in November, David
finally went in for surgery.
Doctors removed as much of
the tumour as they could. But,
after surgery, tests confirmed
our worst fear – there were
cancerous cells.
‘We’re hoping radiotherapy
will kill them,’ a doctor told us.
Over the next months, David
had 30 rounds. Despite feeling
tired and weak, he kept smiling.
And we kept trying for a baby.
‘When I’m better, we can
think about the wedding, too,’
David smiled.
It helped, imagining ourh