Limerick woman shares her journey to recovery following brain tumour diagnosis

A CAR crash is usually not described as being a life-saving event but for Limerick woman Carrie Kirby-Mullane that is exactly what it was.

It was 2006 and Carrie had just arrived back in Dublin Airport after a holiday to Egypt when she was involved in a collision.

Thankfully, the incident was not serious and the Pallasgreen woman did not receive any physical injuries.

However, overnight the then 41 year-old began to experience problems with her balance and vision.

The next morning, Carrie went to her GP who sent her to the Emergency Department where she was sent home with tablets for vertigo.

The mother-of-three collapsed later that night and after returning to hospital a brain MRI was carried out.

It was then that she was diagnosed with a meningioma, a brain tumour that had grown to the size of an orange.

Carrie said that for the rest of her life she will remember the three things the neurosurgeon told her following the diagnosis.

“He said, ‘It is very large. It is very serious. But, it is very treatable’.

“The surgeon said it was the largest of that type of tumour that he had ever seen and if I did not go for surgery I would be dead within six weeks. I had the surgery three days later.”

Thankfully, the tumour was benign and Carrie was told that it could have been growing for up to 15 years.

The diagnosis also explained some of the symptoms that Carrie had been experiencing before the car crash.

“My emotions were all over the place but I had a total hysterectomy so I put my symptoms down to that.

“I thought I was losing my mind. My husband John told me I was having seizures while I was asleep but because I wasn’t aware of them I kind of ignored it.

“I was getting upset over stupid things and afterwards I knew the way I acted wasn’t justified.

Brave Limerick boy receives medal for helping his mother in medical emergency

“Then it turned out that I was behaving this way because of the tumour and where it was located in my brain.”

At the time of her diagnosis, two of Carrie’s children were aged 18 and 20 but her youngest child, Jade, was only six.

Carrie said it was only for her young daughter that she recovered the way she did.

“I had to work very hard. I was told that whatever I was left with after two years would be how I would be forever.

“Jade needed me and I had to be well for her. She made me get better in a way, I didn’t want her to grow up without a mother.

“I suffered with confusion and I found it very difficult to do everyday things.

“I still suffer from headaches, dizziness and exhaustion. My short-term memory is bad and I am always writing lists.

“I have learned to live with it and people who don’t know me wouldn’t notice anything wrong.”

The 58 year-old credits her husband John, children Amy, Aaron and Jade as well as her sister Ann for helping her through her recovery.

“I had to learn to be patient with myself and not to expect too much in the beginning. It has changed my life but mostly in good ways.

“I appreciate life more and take nothing for granted. I still get frustrated at times when I can’t concentrate and I also get worried the odd time about my tumour recurring.

“However, I am so lucky to have such a caring family around me.”

When it comes to the future, Carrie is optimistic.

“I hope and aspire to be the best person I can be – mother, wife, and sister. I think with me, what you see is what you get. I try to stay positive at all times as I think that is so important. I look forward to the future and the years ahead.”

International Brain Tumour Awareness Week takes place from October 28 to November 4.

For more information you can visit the website www.braintumourireland.com