A mum has opened up on her running journey after the removal of a brain tumour. Tracey Atkinson took up running after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2008, later having surgery in late 2011. The 46-year-old is now undertaking 12 races in 12 months in 12 countries, with the funds raised going towards Reach, a charity providing support for children and young people with an upper limb difference and their families.
Tracey was inspired by her daughter India Sasha who was born with a limb difference, with the family wanting to continue raising awareness. Opening up on her brain tumour diagnosis, Tracey told : "I had taken a career break from the Civil Service to do a degree, I just had my third daughter. In the second year of my degree, I started having blackouts.
I sort of dismissed it, thinking it was maybe stress with having three children under 5 [and] doing a degree, but when it came to my final year, it started to become more frequent. "Often I was like absent when you would be speaking to me. I went to the GP to discuss it and they referred me to the hospital.
They did an MRI scan because I previously had a brain aneurysm at the age of 9, they were worried that it was anything related. The neurologist then confirmed that I actually had a brain tumour. "They initially said it was too dangerous to do surgery, that I could possibly lose my speech or hearing.
They said medication for three years to control seizures. This was around 2008 when the seizures started." The .