A Mother's Recovery from Brain Tumour and Stroke

A Mother’s Recovery from Brain Tumour and Stroke

Maxine and Marcus were expecting their second child, due in February 2020. Six months into her pregnancy, Maxine started suffering from terrible headaches. The headaches became so painful that she required a brain scan. At 39 years old, she was diagnosed with meningioma. The pain and side effects from the tumour worsened later into the pregnancy.

After the birth of their baby girl, the side effects of Maxine’s tumour continued to increase, and it was determined that the planned surgery to remove the tumour needed to be done as soon as possible. The situation was further complicated when Maxine suffered a left-sided stroke shortly after the operation, which caused partial paralysis on the right side of her body. Following the operation, she was placed in ICU for two weeks. When Maxine came out of the ICU, her movement, cognition, speech and mood were all severely affected. “It was unclear whether Maxine would require further surgery due to severe swelling of the brain. We worried about whether she was going to recover from the surgery at all. It was an extremely tough time for our family,” said Marcus.

Maxine was admitted to Royal Rehab Private Hospital (RRPH) in July where she received a personalised rehabilitation program designed by a team of multidisciplinary allied health professionals under the direction of a rehabilitation specialist.

At first, Maxine’s mobility was very limited — she had to use equipment to mobilise herself and required moderate assistance from two people. It was difficult for her to understand others and communicate basic messages. She required full assistance from the nursing team for her personal care and her mental state at the time also made it challenging for her to participate in therapy. For the last three months, Maxine has participated in daily physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy sessions. She was also supported by clinical psychologists and psychiatrists to help manage her mental health.

Maxine has made considerable gains, is now able to communicate at a reasonable level, understand conversations, walk with assistance, and is building the strength needed to return home.

Maxine’s role as a mother is very important to her. She practices feeding, dressing, talking and singing nursery rhymes to her daughter during the frequent visits from Marcus and her 10 year-old son. Maxine’s significant process has lead the RRPH team to start arranging with her family and the NDIS for her to slowly transition back home. She will start by going home for a few hours every day, while continuing to live at RRPH. This will then lead to a complete move back home where her family and carers will continue to support her. RRPH is providing support and guidance on how the family can alter their house to make it safe for Maxine.

“I cannot thank the staff at RRPH enough. All of them have gone above and beyond to help us through this process and work towards Maxine’s goal to return home to our children,” said Marcus.

For more information about RRPH’s brain tumour and stroke services phone 02 9808 0522.

235 Morrison Road, Ryde NSW 2112 02 9808 9222 | royalrehab.com.au