A love of gaming is way of coping for Blackpool woman in brain tumour battle

Days later she was dealt the devastating blow that she had an inoperable brain tumour which left her with debilitating effects on her young life.

Until now she hasn’t wanted to share her story but a love of gaming to help cope with the illness and the creation of a large social media following on Instagram, Twitter, Twitch and TikTok, the 23-year-old is using her digital presence to share her story and help raise awareness of brain tumours.

Now 23, Tegan, who lives in Blackpool, has been left with a number of serious underlying medical conditions since being diagnosed with the low-grade prolactinoma tumour in her last year of primary school.

Recalling the walk from brownies, Tegan said: “I suddenly realised that I couldn’t see out of my left eye. When we got home, Mum did some visual field tests on me and when she realised there was a problem with my vision, she took me to the NHS walk-in centre.”

A doctor did some tests and thought Tegan was suffering from migraines but her mum, Jane, insisted her daughter was sent for an MRI scan immediately. Having lost both her sister and her brother to glioblastoma multiforme brain tumours in their thirties, Jane was not prepared to take any chances on Tegan.

Tegan was sent to Blackpool Victoria Hospital and the next day, she had an MRI scan, which revealed a 3cm pituitary tumour pressing on her optic nerve.

Within a couple of days, she was in Manchester Children’s Hospital, where she would spend the next three months undergoing treatment.

Tegan said: “Dodging surgery was a blessing but I still had a rough ride, which is why I had to stay in hospital for so long. I would get bad headaches and needed to be monitored with regular scans. My thyroid wasn’t responding well and I had excess fluid on my brain.

“My hospital stay came at a particularly difficult time for me academically. I was in year 6; my final year of primary. It meant that I missed out on a lot of the transition phase, that prepares you for secondary school.”

Unfortunately, when Tegan started secondary school, she struggled to make new friends, having missed out on crucial bonding periods, which, she says, led to her being bullied.

She needed a wheelchair for a while and crutches and still had to endure long periods in hospital but despite the challenging circumstances, she still managed to pass her GCSEs.

In 2015, Tegan was dealt a further blow when she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Her health has continued to deteriorate over the years and basic daily activities can be a real struggle.

She’s unable to stand for long periods of time and migraine attacks can throw her off small tasks, leaving her exhausted and shaken up.

Tegan’s partner Karl Spedding, 35, from Lytham St Annes, is a great support to her, not least because he knows all too well the impact of a brain tumour diagnosis having seen a friend battle the disease in his teens.

He said: Through my friend’s experience and now through Tegan’s battle, I’ve come to understand more about the disease and just how many young people are affected. It’s shocking how common brain tumours are.”

Alongside the support she gets from her family and Karl, Tegan has been getting increasingly into video gaming, as a way of escaping her health problems.

She said: “I’ve always had a thing for gaming, in particular Pokémon. My interest in the video game series has grown in recent years, especially during lockdown, and I now have a huge collection of Pokémon memorabilia, which has helped my social media to ‘blow up’. Gaming also keeps my brain active and is a form of escapism.

"It allows me to connect with other people online, through our shared interests. It means I’m part of a community of like-minded people and helps me to feel less lonely.”

She said: “Up to now, I’ve shied away from sharing my story with all but my closest friends and relatives. Recently, I decided that maybe I should be more open, especially since mine is an invisible illness and not many people would know what I’m contending with on a daily basis. I’ve had a fantastic response and people are so supportive. I hope that maybe I can inspire and offer hope to others.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We’re really grateful to Tegan for sharing her brain tumour journey, to help shine a light on this critically underfunded disease. It’s only with the support of people like Tegan that we’re able to raise awareness of the need for more funding into brain tumour research, to improve options and outcomes for patients who are forced to fight this awful disease.”

As the culmination of Brain Tumour Awareness Month, tomorrow – Friday March 25 - is Wear A Hat Day. The day has become a nationally important fundraising and awareness event that people all across the UK, and beyond support every year and is a great way to bring people together and raise vital funds for Brain Tumour Research.

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