Catherine Dell had a particularly hard delivery.
After 38 hours of labouring, doctors revealed that there was a change of plan: they were doing an emergency C-section.
Catherine from Staffordshire struggled to bond with her little girl, Jessica, after she finally made her way into the world.
But it’s not because of the difficult birth, as is often the case. It’s because she thought she was going to die.
Just hours after the birth, Catherine had a violent seizure, and doctors discovered a 4cm-long tumour on her brain.
“It was frightening,” she told The Sun.
“I thought it was the beginning of the end for me. My mortality was thrown into stark focus and I struggled to bond with my daughter in the fear that I was going to die and never be there for her.”
Catherine never had any symptoms, and doctors said Catherine’s body tolerance to the golf ball size tumour had decreased because she was so tired from the marathon labour.
“If my tumour had remained undetected, it’s likely to have continued to grow until I had a major seizure and by that stage it might have been too late,” she said.
“So in a way my daughter, and that extended labour, saved my life.”
While Catherine has now recovered, she said that the discovery turned her maternity leave – and relationship with her baby – upside down.
“I assumed I’d be enjoying nine months maternity leave and embracing being a new mummy but instead I was having MRI scans, CT scans and blood tests in preparation for a craniotomy to find out what type of tumour I had,” she said.
“To make matters worse, after my diagnosis I was put on steroids. It was to be my best friend and my worst enemy! I put on five stones within weeks. I lost muscle in my legs and it made it impossible to climb stairs and play with Jessica."
Fortunately, Catherine had the whole tumour removed.
While the anti-seizure drugs and their side effects are taking time to get used to, Catherine is now on the mend – and so is her bond with little Jessica.
“I’ve lost the weight and returned to be fitter and stronger than I ever was. I regained my confidence and fitness and, crucially, I’ve caught up on the time I lost with my daughter.”
Catherine is now running the Lichfield Half Marathon next weekend to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity which helped her through the ordeal.