Thanks to surgery I can smile again
Ayr girl is fronting brain tumour campaign
She dreamed of a career full of success as a high- flyer in the music industry.
But after receiving the devastating news she was suffering from a brain tumour, Heather Dearie, 31, feared her life would never be the same again.
The right side of her face drooped after eight hours of life- saving surgery removed the tumour following an earlier operation to relieve pressure on her brain from a build- up of fluid.
But now her smile has returned after undergoing corrective surgery - and she’s fronting a campaign to raise awareness for research into brain tumours.
Fortunately her lump - the size of an orange - turned out to be benign.
Heather, from Ayr’s Forehill, said: “I couldn’t hear properly out of my right ear but presumed it was from going to loads of gigs.
“Over the following 15 months, doctors but my symptoms down to various things like low blood pressure, an over active thyroid and migraines.
“It wasn’t until nothing was found wrong with my hearing that I was referred to Ayr Hospital for an MRI scan - and I was given the devastating news that I had a brain tumour.
“It’s crucial to raise awareness about symptoms so that more lifes are saved and people suffer fewer long- term disabilities.
“If my tumour had been diagnosed sooner, I probably wouldn’t have lost my hearing.”
Heather was 25 and in her second year of a music management course at London’s Metropolitan University when she became ill in December 2011 – just four days before Christmas.
And she was subjected to horrendous abuse from online trolls, who told her “if they looked like me they would kill themselves.”
But now she’s on the road to recovery - and wants to use her story to raise awareness about brain tumours.
She said: “My face isn’t entirely symmetrical and I’m on the waiting list for another operation.
“But I look - and feel - so much better. It feels fantastic to be able to smile again.
“Now I am backing # WearItOut as The Brain Tumour Charity has been a lifeline to me and I want to help raise awareness about this devastating disease.”