Man, 23, who blamed ‘drinking too much’ for headaches left paralysed down one side of his body
A man who was left paralysed down the right side of his body due to a brain tumour has learnt to walk again.
Connor Moir, 23, started suffering from numbness in his right arm in January 2022 but didn’t think it was anything serious.
After a few months, he also started experiencing sickness and excruciating headaches but put it down to his social life.
In August 2022, Connor had double vision so went to his local opticians.
After a scan, they told him he had a mass on his brain and sent him to Dundee Nine Well’s Hospital for a CT scan and an MRI.
After an MRI scan, Connor was told he had a meningioma – a benign brain tumour – and he would need an operation to remove it.
Five days later, Connor had a successful six-hour procedure to remove the tumour – which was the size of his fist.
But the operation left Connor paralysed on his right side – due to the location of the tumour – and he had to learn to walk and use his right arm again.
Connor, a young ambassador at The a Brain Tumour Charity and bar manager, from Aberdeen, Scotland, said: “When the tumour was cut out it was like the snipped the connection from my brain to the right side of my body.
“I am right-handed so I could barely eat or do anything with my right hand.
“I was left completely paralysed on my right side.
“I re-learned how to walk, eat and write.”
In early 2022, Connor started experiencing numbness in his right arm but didn’t think anything of it.
After four months, his symptoms worsened and he started throwing up.
Connor said: “I was drinking a lot at the time as I had just moved to St Andrews so I thought I had too much.
“It all came ahead in August when my vision started to split and I would get incredible headaches.
“I took every painkiller under the sun but nothing was working.”
In hindsight, I should’ve known something wasn’t right
Connor Moir
Connor went to his local opticians to find out what was causing it.
After undergoing scans on his head, the optician confirmed Connor had a mass on his brain and would need to go to the hospital.
He said: “I got into the car with my boss at the time who took me to hospital.
“I said we were hungry and we went to McDonald’s and we were joking about this being my last meal.
“I was not worried in the slightest when I was told I had a mass on the brain.”
Connor went to Dundee Nine Wells Hospital for a CT scan and MRI.
The MRI showed Connor had a meningioma – a benign brain tumour.
Connor said: “I was completely unprepared for the truth.
“In hindsight, I feel I should’ve known something wasn’t right but I couldn’t read the warning signs.
“Hearing that I had a tumour was pretty rough, I broke down.
“I was crying uncontrollably to my grandma, Marjorie Moir, who came down to the hospital.
“It was the hardest couple of days of my life.”
Five days after his diagnosis, Connor had a six-hour operation to remove the tumour.
It was successful and surgeons removed 99.9 per cent – leaving a tiny part of it attached to the membrane.
LEARNING TO WALK AGAIN
But Connor was left with very low mobility and getting back on his feet again was a huge challenge.
Connor said: “The road to recovery was paved with blood, sweat and tears, and I mean that literally.
“For about two months I had very little control over the entire right side of my body, as the tumour was located on the part of my brain that controlled that side.
“This made even the simplest of tasks almost impossible to complete independently.
“I couldn’t walk without a crutch. I couldn’t even take a shower by myself. “My lack of mobility after my tumour and the dependency I developed at this time crushed me as I’m normally helping others.”
By November 2022, Connor gained complete control over the right side of his body and took part in the Hyrox fitness challenge in Glasgow, Scotland.
He said: “Once I was able to walk by myself, I went to watch my friend Laszlo compete in the Hyrox Solo category last year.
“The atmosphere in that hall was electric. I saw the hard work he was putting in to cross that finish line and I was genuinely moved. “I decided then and there that I was going to compete in the event the following year.
“If I can get across that finish line, I have recovered, I will have beaten the tumour, and I am free.”
Abi Hames, Young Ambassador Lead at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “Our Young Ambassadors are an integral part of The Brain Tumour Charity.
“Each of them has close personal experience of the impact of a brain tumour and we’re so grateful for all they are doing to advocate for so many, to help drive change for everyone affected by the disease.
“I am certain they will achieve great things in their roles as Young Ambassadors, to help raise awareness of the impact that brain tumours have and what people can do to help.”
All the times your headache is a medical emergency
Headaches can often be caused by a lack of sleep or dehydration – but there are signs to indicate it could be something far worse.
If aches follow a head injury, or cause speech problems, difficulty balancing or walking, blurred or double vision, a sore scalp, weakness in the arms or legs, jaw pain when eating or sudden and extreme pain, it could be potentially life-threatening.
Sufferers of headaches should assess what their symptoms are, how bad they are and take appropriate action, pharmacists warn.
It’s also crucial to see a doctor if painkillers aren’t working, if you are vomiting or if you have increased light and noise sensitivity.
If there is sudden or extreme pain, call 999.
An intense headache could be a sign of brain bleeding, blood clots or a build-up fluid.
Worse yet, it could also be a sign of a stroke or a brain tumour.