A dad who put his “drilling” headaches and constant fatigue down to the stresses of having a young family was actually diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Exhausted Gary Mackay, 38, thought the pain in his head and tiredness were the result of working 40-hour weeks while being a dad and maintaining a social life.
But after collapsing on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night doctors discovered the root of his problems – a grade 2 astrocytoma.
Gary, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, recalled: “Everything started making sense. My mysterious collapse was actually a grand-mal seizure.
“The pain in my head, sometimes so severe it felt as if someone was drilling into my skull, and my lack of energy were all caused by my brain tumour.”
After collapsing on the bathroom floor in November 2022, he was taken into hospital for a CT scan.
At first it was thought he had suffered a stroke but the scan revealed a five centimetre tumour in the brain.
Things escalated even further when while waiting for surgery, Gary suffered a major seizure at home alone with his son, Sebastian, aged four at the time.
Gary, also dad to Sienna, eight, said: “I felt a strange aura – what I now know is the feeling you get before you have a seizure – come over me.
“I had started preparing dinner and put some water on to boil.
“My next memory was waking up as my wife, Lisa, returned home with Holly, and Sebastian saying ‘daddy’s been asleep for an hour’.
“When I came round, I could talk, but wasn’t making any sense.
“Lisa asked me questions including if I needed medical attention to which I replied ‘I think so.’ “
In February this year, Gary had a craniotomy to remove the tumour and is now monitored with regular scans.
Although the operation was a success, Gary knows the cancer may return and he could need further treatment.
Gary said: “This disease has torn my family’s world apart. We live with uncertainty and that has been horrible to deal with.
“I thought about everything that I could miss in the future, such as walking my daughter down the aisle, spending time with my son and, eventually, becoming a grandparent.”
He is now training for a National Three Peaks Challenge in May 2024 to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.
He said: “I’m looking forward to spending time with my family this Christmas and I will be training for my hiking challenge from January.
“I want to raise awareness and money for research into brain tumours to combat this disease and stop other families going through the torment it has brought my family.”
To donate to Gary’s challenge visit justgiving.com/page/gary-mackay-1698850212483.
According to the NHS, symptoms of a brain tumour include:
- Headaches
- Seizures (fits)
- Persistently feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting) and drowsiness
- Mental or behavioural changes, such as memory problems or changes in personality
- Progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
- Vision or speech problems.
If you experience any unexplained symptoms you should speak to your GP.