The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Brain tumour seizure left young father ‘only able to speak French’
AGlenrothes dad says a brain tumour left him “only able to speak and think in French” while having a seizure.
Marcus Jones, 23, has been told he could lose some of his eyesight when he undergoes an operation to remove the cancerous glioma tumour.
Marcus began experiencing seizures last September – just after his son Finnick was born.
Doctors originally thought he had developed epilepsy, but an MRI scan earlier this year revealed the tumour.
He told The Courier: “Slowly but surely I began to have more seizures.
“I usually notice when I’m about to have one.
“I’ll be looking at my partner and I’ll suddenly lose her – it’s terrifying.
“One of the earlier ones I had, I remember it coming on and trying to tell my partner, but for some reason I could only think and speak in French. “I don’t speak French. “I did it in school at Higher level, but I haven’t used it since then. I spoke to my doctor, and he told me it’s uncommon but not unheard of.”
Similar stories have emerged over the years where people have appeared to speak different languages after suffering brain injuries, including a woman who says she woke from a coma speaking French.
The tumour causes Marcus to suffer other symptoms, including brain fog and forgetfulness.
Doctors have not been able to tell Marcus how long he is likely to live with the tumour.
Estimations range from six months to more than 10 years.
Due to the uncertainty, Marcus has decided to have the tumour removed, despite the fact it may cost him part of his eyesight.
He said: “There’s a portion that’s going to be difficult to remove, but my surgeon is confident he’ll be able to get around 70% of it without harming too much of my vision.
“Still, it’s likely that I could lose some of the vision on the right-hand side of both my eyes.
“My worry is that so much of it goes that it might affect the focal point.
“I could end up cancerfree, but I could lose a lot of my vision.
“If this had happened before I had a family, I maybe wouldn’t have agreed to the surgery, but I want to be here for my son.
“That’s what worries me: that I won’t be able to see my son.
“Still, I chose to be aggressive and go for it. I want to be here for my son.
“If the surgery isn’t successful, I might need to go for radiotherapy and chemotherapy.”
Marcus, who works as a carer, has been on sick leave for more than five months.
His partner, Abbie Armstrong, is now having to look after both him and one-year-old Finnick.
Marcus’s family has set up a fundraiser on his behalf – which has already allowed him to move into a house more suited to his needs and to visit relatives in England.
He added: “I have a lot of guilt about this.
“I don’t like asking people for help, but sometimes you need to.
“I’m massively grateful to everyone who’s donated so far.
“I wish they could see how much of an impact it’s had for us.
“Our new home is through the council, but the money people have donated has helped so much with paying for utilities, moving costs and just the day-to-day costs of our lives.”