Doting dad’s brainwave is to help others
SET TO DO THE GREAT NORTH RUN FOR WORTHY CAUSE
HE carries a scar from ear-to-ear after undergoing a life-saving operation to have a brain tumour the size of a satsuma removed.
Now inspirational Andrew Potts is using his battle for survival to spur him on to help others.
It is believed Andrew’s tumour lay undiscovered for about 15 years before he started having dull headaches, as well as ear and vision problems.
And after being misdiagnosed three times, the grim discovery was revealed.
He underwent an operation at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary where surgeon Alistair Jenkins peeled back the skin on Andrew’s head before cutting out a piece of skull to remove the tumour.
And after his operation, the dad-of-two was told by the DVLA he couldn’t drive, which encouraged him to run the six miles back home from work each day as part of his fitness programme.
Now the grateful 37-year-old is using his experience to inspire him to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity.
And Andrew is taking part in the Great North Run on September 9 and says he’s now more prepared than ever with over 700 miles under his belt this year alone.
“The medics believe the brain tumour lay there for about 15 years,” said Andrew, of Cleadon, South Tyneside.
“I played football, cricket and even took part in a charity boxing event. I have been hit in the head on many occasions and it could have burst, but it didn’t.
“It got to grow the size of a satsuma, I’m very lucky to be here.”
It was down to Andrew’s wife Julie, 37, who pushed for her husband to get a second opinion after doctors diagnosed him with glue ear, then gave him a dose of antibiotics and said he had a sinus issue.
“I was referred to the RVI to an ENT specialist who said it wasn’t a sinus problem and had serious concerns that it was something else and referred me to a neurologist.
“I went for a private MRI scan and was told the brain tumour was very large but a one that wasn’t dangerous, which was hard to comprehend at the time.
“I went back to work but had another illness episode where the pressure on my brain was causing pain and sickness and my wife took me to the RVI. That was on June 6 2017 and I was kept in hospital for three days.
“It was then a doctor showed me a scan of my brain and said the tumour was the size of a satsuma.”
Managing director Andrew, who runs KP Simpson Accountants in Jarrow, underwent surgery on June 12 and was kept in hospital for a week.
“They cut me from ear to ear and peeled the skin back from my forehead and lay it over my nose while the surgeon cut away a piece of skull to remove the tumour. He put my skull back together with screws and sewed me back up.
“They sent the tumour away for tests and they said it was a grade one tumour, basically it was benign. But they said if it wasn’t discovered, the pressure in my skull would have been so much it would have made my body shut down and I would have died.
“I’m so grateful to my surgeon and the staff at the RVI, they were all brilliant and I owe my life to them.”
Now fit and well again, running for a cause close to his heart Andrew hopes to raise awareness of The Brain Tumour Charity and support those who are in the situation he was in just over a year ago.
Andrew, who has daughter Katie-Rose, 11, and six-year-old son Louie, added: “My aim is to raise as much money as possible to help the charity which raises awareness in identifying that someone has a brain tumour.
“I was misdiagnosed three times and I genuinely believe it is due to lack of understanding in some doctors, which the charity is working hard to rectify.
“All charities need money, and if by me raising money for the charity can help someone in the future, then I’m more than happy to put my body through hell.”
If you would like to support Andrew’s journey and donate to The Brain Tumour Charity, please visit his JustGiving page at www. justgiving.com/fundraising/ andrew-potts9.