Tourist thought double vision was linked to aeroplane pressure - truth was more sinister

A young woman who thought her double vision was due to a change in aeroplane pressure while on a long-haul flight was stunned to be diagnosed with brain cancer.

The symptom was actually a sign of Abi Bradley's disease, diagnosed two weeks after she and now husband Josh had landed in Boston, Massachusetts, where they celebrated her cousin's wedding. Abi, then 24, also developed a loss of mobility in the right side of her body in the days after her nine-hour flight.

Although she had never had any health issues before, Abi went to see a doctor in the US but a CT scan there found nothing. Her bombshell came upon returning to the UK, where doctors found a golf ball-sized tumour in her brain.

Abi, from Birmingham, said: "It was a huge shock. When I was told of my diagnosis and how it was incurable I was really upset. It was something that I never expected to hear - it was horrendous."

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Abi, who then was a PR executive, was told the tumour couldn't be operated on as it was located at the back left of her head and at the top of her spine. She was also told the tumour had spread down her spine but she was given good news that they are contained inside, meaning the disease can't spread around her body.

Following her diagnosis she was had five rounds of chemotherapy and six months' worth of radiotherapy. During the treatment, she lost her hair completely.

But Abi has slowly recovered from the grade 3 (high-grade) glioma - an aggressive and fast-growing tumour, diagnosed in 2019, and she is now continuing her fundraising for Brain Tumour Research. Abi, now 31, continued: "When I was told of my diagnosis, it was a complete shock. I thank my lucky stars every day that I'm still here."

Abi said she first noticed the double vision when she was collecting her bags from the baggage reclaim carousels. She said: "When I was picking up my bag I kept blinking trying to clear my eyes but it didn't work. I said to Josh 'something doesn't feel right, it feels like everything is double'. I didn't have any nausea or other symptoms."

At the time Abi pushed it to the side blaming it on the pressure changes in the aeroplane during the flight. But it was only when she got their accommodation that she knew something was wrong.

"I was trying to put my eyeliner on and I couldn't because my hand wasn't coordinating how I wanted it to. I also noticed that my left eye started to draw inwards and looked lazy.

"I had lost control of the left side of my body and my right eye which I was later told were the symptoms of a brain tumour. After a few days I noticed I couldn't swallow my food and it felt like I was choking every time which was hard for me."

Abi, now a part-time school secretary, still has check-up scans to see if there is growth every three months. However, she is thankful when she reflects on her journey.

"In that period a lot of things changed but very early on I realised that I wasn't going to let this beat me. I have such great friends and family who supported me," Abi continued.

"I am a big believer that if you put your mind to something that your body will respond, I'm not saying that it will work for everybody, but it worked for me."

In 2020 Abi's tumour reduced from "golf ball size" to "grape size" and she slowly began to regain mobility in her right arm before regaining ability in her left leg.

In 2021, Abi started a business called 'The Cancer Card' where she makes and sells cancer-related cards to help "fellow warriors continue their fight".

She donates one-third of the profit to Brain Tumour Research and she is holding her first fundraiser - a "wellness day" where people can enjoy a day of "relaxation and rejuvenation".

To donate to Abi's appeal, visit this link.