\n Luke Taylor has been suffering from horrendous pain in his head for around 10 years, and he also experiences sickness that sees him vomit for days on end.\n<\/p>\n
\n The 27-year-old repeatedly went to his GP and says that he was told that he was \u2018healthy\u2019, and that his symptoms were the result of migraines\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n But in July last year, his symptoms got progressively worse, when he started being sick and suffering from migraines multiple times a day.\n<\/p>\n
\n He demanded an MRI scan, and the results came back to show that Luke had a hemangioblastoma \u2013 a very rare\u202fbrain tumour that can grow throughout the brain and spinal cord.\n<\/p>\n
\n Luke underwent a nine-hour brain surgery to remove the tumour at the Walton Centre in Aintree Hospital and was told that surgeons were able to remove all of it.\n<\/p>\n
\n Now, Luke will undergo scans on his eye, brain, spine, and body every six months for the next 10 years to monitor any return.\n<\/p>\n
\n Luke, a civil engineer from Warrington, said: \u201cWhen you get news like that, you go into yourself. Your mind races, you do not want to speak to anyone, and you think that your life is done.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI was 26 when I was diagnosed. I had the rest of my life ahead of me, I have a daughter, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell my family.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey said if I didn’t have emergency surgery, I could have days to live. I thought I was going to die.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Initially, doctors told him that an MRI scan was not necessary, but Luke persisted and went for a scan at Warrington Hospital.\n<\/p>\n
\n Nia Jones and Luke Taylor are raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cOne day, I was fed up with my headaches. They were getting worse and worse, and I wanted to cry with the pain,” he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI went to the doctors and they told me that I was having really bad migraines, but that did not make sense.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I was being sick, I was in severe pain, and I said I wanted to have an MRI scan.”\n<\/p>\n
\n By the time of hemangioblastoma diagnosis, the tumour had grown so large that it was bigger than a golf ball, and Luke was told that he only had days to live without emergency surgery.\n<\/p>\n
\n Within a week, he underwent a nine-hour surgery in hospital to remove the tumour.\n<\/p>\n
\n Unfortunately, it did not go as planned and resulted in a bleed on the brain, meaning that he had to undergo further emergency surgery the following day.\n<\/p>\n
\n Luke’s partner, Nia Jones, 26, a business operations specialist, said: \u201cI saw Luke after his operation and he was very erratic.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe was slurring his words and couldn’t open his eyes.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThen, a day after the surgery, we were told that he had a bleed on the brain and had to go back in for emergency surgery.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n After 18 days in hospital, Luke was discharged and had to relearn how to walk, speak, and use his hands after the double surgery.\n<\/p>\n
\n Luke Taylor in hospital after his operation\n<\/p>\n
\n Nia said: \u201cWhat followed were some of the hardest months. Luke couldn\u2019t\u202fdress himself or even cut up his own food.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cEvery day was frustrating, exhausting, and emotional for both of us, but we were determined to do everything possible to help him recover.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n In November, Luke received the news that the operation was successful, and that doctors were able to remove all the tumour.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I was overwhelmed when they told me the surgery was successful. I cried my eyes out. I was so happy that they had got it all,\u201d he explained.\n<\/p>\n
\n On July 18 this year, Nia, Luke, his sister, Leah, and her partner, Gary, will be hiking the three Yorkshire peaks in one day to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity.\n<\/p>\n
\n Nia said: \u201cWe have gone through a lot with the family, and we wanted to raise money for the charity that has supported us throughout, and to show support to others.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe want to show people that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that people can get through this.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Joanna Moss, director of services at The Brain Tumour Charity, commented: \u201cFaster diagnosis of brain tumours is vital.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThat is why The Brain Tumour Charity works with healthcare professionals to increase their confidence in recognising signs and symptoms, and in referring for scans if they are at all concerned.\u201d\n<\/p>\n