Mum's feelings of déjà vu turned out to be sign of brain tumour
A woman who kept experiencing feelings déjà vu was surprised to discover her symptoms were caused by a brain tumour.
Kirsty Connell, 39, a teacher from Old Stratford, Northamptonshire, visited her doctor after suffering terrible headaches and frequent feelings of déjà vu - the phenomenon of feeling as though you have lived through a situation before.
She describes it as similar to an out of body experience, as if she could feel herself in other places.
For example she'd be having a conversation with someone or be in a shop paying and would get a funny feeling before seeing herself in other places - such as driving her car, cooking or waking elsewhere.
Connell says the feelings would last a few seconds, but became more and more frequent and intense over time, which prompted her to book an appointment with her GP in October 2021.
"She referred me to a neurologist who thought I was having hormone-related migraines but sent me for an MRI scan as a precaution," Connell explains.
Following the scan, the mum-of-three was diagnosed with a grade 2 oligodendroglioma - a low grade brain tumour.
"When I got taken through to a family room, I knew something wasn’t right and that’s where I was told they’d found a mass on my brain," she says of the moment she received her diagnosis.
She underwent a craniotomy in November 2021, while awake, to remove a section of bone and is now being monitored with three-monthly scans as part of a "watch and wait" protocol.
"My first thought was there was no way I could be awake for surgery," Connell says of the procedure.
"I’d had a mole removed previously and that completely put me off, but I was really looked after.
"I feel really lucky because the surgeons were able to remove every visible trace of my tumour and I know it could have been very different."
Following her experiences Connell has become a supporter of the charity Brain Tumour Research and recently took part in a fundraiser which asks pupils and teacher to wear their favourite hats.
"The school celebrated it last year but sadly I wasn’t there to join in because I was having a brain scan, so I was really looking forward to it this year," she explains.
"We held it a day early to tie in with our end-of-term assembly and it was great to see so many children and staff wearing hats.
"Everyone in my department wore the same ones - brightly coloured cowgirl hats. It was a great turnout and I can’t wait to see how much we’ve raised."
The event, which asks people to don their favourite hats, hold hat-themed events and make donations to help find a cure for brain tumours, has raised more than £2 million since being launched in 2010.
Commenting on the impact of brain tumours, Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, says: "With one in three people knowing someone affected by a brain tumour Kirsty’s story is sadly not unique.
"Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer. More men under 70 than prostate cancer and more children than leukaemia.
"We’re determined to change that, but we can’t do it alone. We’re really grateful to Kirsty and her colleagues and pupils at The Redway School for their support.
"Together we will find a cure.”
To register for Wear A Hat Day, which can be celebrated any day in March, visit www.wearahatday.org.
What are the symptoms of a brain tumour?
Symptoms of a brain tumour vary depending on the exact part of the brain affected. Brain Tumour Research says the most common symptoms are caused by an increase in pressure in the skull (intracranial pressure) caused by the growth of a tumour in the brain.
Some of the common warning signs of a brain tumour may include:
headaches
nausea and vomiting
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
Additional reporting SWNS.
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