A British mother discovered her teen son was suffering from a large brain tumor after blaming his increasing clumsiness on a recent growth spurt.
Samantha Halket, 39, initially believed her son, Thomas, 16, was simply going through the pangs of adolescence as well as dealing with the fact that he had grown to top 6 feet tall in a short period of time.
“I put it down to him being a clumsy, gangly teenager,” Halket told Kennedy News and Media. “He grew very quickly, and his legs are three-quarters of his body, and he’s got size 10 feet.”
“He’s suddenly had a massive growth spurt to 6-foot-1 — his body is tiny compared to his big legs,” continued his mom adding that her son has “always been very clumsy.”
Halket reported last month that her son started complaining about getting frequent headaches, as well as being tired and sick, but the concerned mom assumed it was due to anxiety about his upcoming General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) tests.
“With all the things going on like exams and the stress of them, and he had a bit of time where he wasn’t great at eating,” explained his mother, “I put them down to him staying up at night, being on the computer screen and not getting enough sleep.”
Halket said that Thomas’ headaches usually lasted for one or two days.
It was during that time the teen also admitted that he had been struggling to see distant objects but was afraid to say anything because he didn’t want to wear glasses.
“He hid it quite well,” said Halket.
The mom chalked it up to computer overindulgence and otherwise “being a typical teenager.”
To make matters worse, the 16-year-old kept getting ill.
“He had a couple of weeks where he had cold after cold and just kept picking things up,” explained a frazzled Halket. “So with the sickness, I just thought, ‘Is it another bug?’ Because there was a lot of sickness going around.”
“I saw that the headaches were getting worse because sometimes he’d come in and would go to sleep or I found him in a dark room,” added Halket.
Halket continued to believe that all of her son’s symptoms had a simple explanation — at least until she noticed that Thomas began zig-zagging when he walked.
“He went to get something out of the car and instead of walking in a straight line, he was walking like a snake,” recalled his mom. “We were just thinking, ‘He’s so clumsy and is in Thomas’ world.'”
Eventually, however, the teen’s eyesight diminished so much he was forced to see an eye doctor — and it was revealed the boy was suffering from a massive tumor that was blocking the fluid to his brain.
“It was terrifying. We weren’t expecting it at all,” recalled Halket. “Thomas has been the bravest throughout it and only got upset once, and it was that moment when we were told what it was.”
The teen was checked into the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where the doctor said Thomas had a grade one brain tumor or pilocytic astrocytoma, which is classified as the slowest growing form of brain mass according to the Mayo Clinic.
“His whole body could have shut down. It was essentially a ticking time bomb,” said Halket, who added that the eye doctor literally saved her son’s life.
Thankfully, physicians were able to remove the tumor just two days after the family checked in, but Thomas was kept for observation before being discharged.
“He’s very brave and resilient. He’s got us through it. His mentality has been, ‘OK, let’s go, let’s do it,'” said Thomas’ relieved mother.
The 16-year-old also expressed his desire to move on from the incident.
“Finding out I had a brain tumor was terrifying,” said the teen. “I’m looking forward to feeling better and the future.”
Halket said that Thomas is almost back in perfect condition, though she noted he still struggles with coordination and balance and can’t yet walk unaided.
“He can dress himself, he’s managing to eat now, but he can’t prepare meals or stand up for long periods,” said the mom. “He’s got a crutch for short walks but he’s in a wheelchair if we go out anywhere. We’re hoping his balance and coordination will improve; it’s just going to take physio and time.”
In light of the terrifying ordeal, Halket said she wants to raise awareness for the condition.
“I’d tell other parents to try and keep up with their children’s eye tests because I don’t think people realize how important they are — because I didn’t,” she said.