A* in physics for Lucia – despite her appendicitis
SOME people might ring in sick if they were struck down ill with appendicitis, especially if they had a tricky physics exam to take.
But not Lucia Brown. The 16-year-old was diagnosed with appendicitis during her GCSEs but carried on and sat her physics GCSE two days after having her appendix out – and achieved an A*.
Lucia, from Porthcawl, said she was determined to sit the physics paper and not opt for predicted grades, as she could have done, because she had worked hard and wanted an A*.
The work paid off. Lucia picked up six A*s, one A and one B grade, including the A* for physics, to add to GCSEs she took early last year. She also got a distinction in further maths – the highest grade possible for that exam.
Lucia was taking GCSEs at the same time as her non-identical twin Rosanna, who achieved two As, six Bs and four Cs, in addition to GCSEs she took early last year.
Lucia, a student at Porthcawl Comprehensive, started feeling ill during her chemistry GCSE exam.
“I was doing the exam on the Thursday when it suddenly started to hurt. It was a pain in my right side. I tried to push it to the back of my mind, but it got so much worse and started stabbing,” said the teenager.
“I was really determined to get the exam done, though.”
When she went home that night, Lucia felt much worse so her mother Cath took her to accident and emergency and she was admitted to Morriston Hospital in Swansea. The teenager had her appendix taken out just before midnight two days later.
Lucia, who dreams of being a doctor, was discharged by medics and two days after the operation, she sat her physics GCSE.
“I had studied so hard for ages and was really prepared, and to be told I had appendicits and couldn’t go to school was really hard,” Lucia said.
“Going in to my physics GCSE I felt terrible, but I really wanted to do it because I could have had a predicted grade but you can’t get an A* with that and I’d worked for an A*. I revised so hard for it.”
Lucia’s mother Cath said the school allowed Lucia to take the exam in a room on her own and made sure she was as comfortable as possible.
She then went on to finish the rest of her GCSEs as normal.
“Lucia came home from the chemistry GCSE saying she had a stomach ache,” said Cath.
“The GP said it was appendicitis so she spent the night on a drip in Morriston Hospital and had it out the next night.
“She is that conscientious that she wanted to go through with the physics exam and limped in to school to sit it.
“The only GCSE paper she couldn’t sit was the second part of RE on the Friday because she was in hospital.
“She got special consideration for that from the exam board.”