• Hannah's Story •
On 31 July 2014, when I had recently turned 15, I came home from a festival with a severe headache and an inability to speak. 8 hours later in A&E, a scan revealed I had suffered a brain haemorrhage and I was rushed to Sheffield Children's Hospital. After staying in hospital for 2 weeks and undergoing physiotherapy, speech, language and eye issues, I was finally allowed to return home.
However, a scan revealed that after my haemorrhage had cleared up, the doctors had found a lump on the left side of my brain. I had my first brain operation on the 19th November 2014. The lump was removed and anaylised; I had been diagnosed with a grade 4 glioma. Another brain operation in May 2015, radiotherapy, two different types of chemo, blood transfusions and hundreds of hospital visits later, there has been no cancer in my body for a whole year
I am so grateful and lucky to be alive today. What happened to me was a miracle, but there are thousands and thousands of people every day who will receive a similar diagnoses. Without the wonderful team at Sheffield Children's Hospital, and the support of my friends and family, I wouldn't have been able to cope half as much as I have. Cancer is a terrifying illness - it affects you and the people around you in the worst way, even after remission. This is why I was determined to participate in this Race For Life - I am racing for myself and the people in my ward who can't.
