A teen put her headaches down to dehydration during a heatwave, but they were a sign of a ruptured tumor.<\/p>\n
Danielle Andersen, 17, had the pain for five days before she went to the A&E department in July 2025.<\/p>\n
A consultant noticed something unusual in her eye tracking, and a CT scan revealed a slow-growing brain tumor called a dermoid cyst, a benign tumor.<\/p>\n
She underwent a craniotomy to remove the tumor, but was left paralyzed down her left side following the surgery.<\/p>\n
It was discovered she had a stroke during the operation when three blood vessels were cut.<\/p>\n
Danielle Andersen underwent a craniotomy to remove the tumor but was left paralyzed down her left side following the surgery. Terrijane Burley \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
She spent nearly two months in the hospital receiving physiotherapy and now, six months on, can jump and dance again.<\/p>\n
Danielle, a student from West Wickham, London, said: \u201cI thought it must be dehydration from the heatwave, and everyone else told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut no matter how much water I drank, the headache wouldn\u2019t go away. I was going to the bathroom constantly because I was drinking and drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
She spent nearly two months in the hospital receiving physiotherapy and now, six months on, can jump and dance again. Terrijane Burley \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in pure agony.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people didn\u2019t believe how bad it was. I kept thinking, am I making this worse than it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy gut feeling was that it wasn\u2019t just a dehydration headache, though, and I was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Danielle\u2019s dad, Justin, 55, took her to A&E at Princess Royal University Hospital in Locksbottom on July 17, 2025, where doctors initially suspected a migraine.<\/p>\n
But a CT scan revealed the dermoid cyst, which doctors said would have been present from birth.<\/p>\n
Danielle Andersen\u2019s brain scan, showing the tumor and cyst. Terrijane Burley \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
Justin, a taxi driver, said: \u201cNobody sat us down and explained what any of it meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe honestly didn\u2019t know the seriousness of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought it was over. We thought it was just going to be resolved there.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Danielle, who has been dancing since age seven, had just secured a place at a London performing arts college, she decided to delay her surgery so she could settle into her first term.<\/p>\n
She was referred to King\u2019s College Hospital at Denmark Hill, and the family were told the operation carried odds of 100 to one against anything going wrong.<\/p>\n
Danielle Andersen walking with the aid of a walking stick in a hospital following her surgery. Terrijane Burley \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to go in as the person with a brain tumor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted people to know me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She attended every class without missing a day and was still dancing the week before she was admitted on December 15, 2025.<\/p>\n
When she came round from the craniotomy, surgeons noticed her left arm did not rise to remove her breathing mask. The family was told it was a \u201cbit of weakness\u201d that would resolve within days.<\/p>\n
Danielle Andersen\u2019s surgery scar, after an MRI scan revealed during the operation three blood vessels had been cut, causing a stroke. Terrijane Burley \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
But four days later, Danielle was completely paralyzed on the entire left side of her body. Her right eye was shut, her head dropped to one side, and she could not move her arm, her leg, or her hand.<\/p>\n
An MRI scan revealed that during the operation, three blood vessels had been cut, causing a stroke. It was three days before Christmas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had been told she\u2019d be home by the 22nd of December,\u201d Justin said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t leave the hospital until February 19.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doctors told the family they did not know whether Danielle would ever dance again, and she was unlikely to regain full use of her left hand.<\/p>\n
Her right eye was shut, her head dropped to one side, and she could not move her arm, her leg, or her hand. Terrijane Burley \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t going to accept that her dreams and her life had gone down the toilet,\u201d Justin said.<\/p>\n
Recovery required the brain to rebuild its neural pathways to the left side of the body, a process called neuroplasticity.<\/p>\n
In the early weeks, family members would physically move her toe, foot, knee, and arm, repeating each movement a hundred times a day alongside NHS community physiotherapists and a private neurological physiotherapist.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe physios said Danielle is only getting through this so quickly because her whole family is on board,\u201d Justin said.<\/p>\n
Six months on, Danielle has started running, jumping, and is picking up dancing again.<\/p>\n
She dropped out of her first year to focus on her recovery and is restarting in September alongside her younger sister, Charlotte, 16, who has since secured her own place at the same college.<\/p>\n
Danielle was told they did not know whether she would ever dance again, and she was unlikely to regain full use of her left hand. Terrijane Burley \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
\u201cMy physio is just turning into dancing again,\u201d Danielle said. \u201cBefore, people had to move my arm because I couldn\u2019t move it. Now I\u2019m dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family is now fundraising through GoFundMe for intensive private neurological physiotherapy. Standard NHS stroke rehabilitation targets everyday functional recovery, but specialists say a dancer needs six hours of rehabilitation a day, far beyond what the NHS can provide.<\/p>\n