Young mum died after brain tumour was dismissed by doctors as ‘just migraines’

A young mum-of-two has sadly passed away from a brain tumour that was initially dismissed as migraines by doctors.

Twenty-eight year old Hettie Galway, from Huyton, Merseyside, first went to her GP in 2017 but was told by doctors her symptoms – nausea, blurred vision and memory loss – were caused by migraines. However, as the pain worsened, she and her husband David Galway sought a second opinion.

After a number of CT and MRI scans, however, Hettie was given the devastating news that she had a grade three brain tumour.

Hettie underwent an operation and biopsy in February 2018 followed by another operation to remove as much of the tumour as possible. She then endured a gruelling period of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

David Galway / Facebook

However, in August last year, a scan revealed that that a new and aggressive tumour was growing on her brain stem, and was told that ‘nothing could be done’ and that she had just six months left to live.

Hettie died on April 22nd this year, leaving David and their two children heartbroken.

And now, months on from his loss, David has spoken about his grief and the months leading up to her death. He told the Liverpool Echo: “Towards the end of last summer she started having difficulty in terms of walking and her balance. Eventually she was using the wheelchair. It was a slow, degrading process, really.”

He continued: “The way I see it, it wasn’t really fair for her to be in that hospital bed all day every day not being able to eat or drink. In my view she’s at peace. I’ve just had to get on with it for the kids at the end of the day.”

David Galway / Facebook

David, who is now looking after the two children, is now retraining to be a personal trainer with the aim of helping others who have experienced the death of a partner like he has.

He said: “For over a year I was just binge eating constantly and running myself down. Just feeling sorry for myself, really. The first few months after she passed away, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as I had to leave my previous job as well.

“Because I’m training as a personal trainer I thought if I’m going to qualify as that, maybe delivering something just for people who’ve gone through the same thing as me, to try and get them on the right track again.”

He has also urged anyone who suffers from repeated migraines and has been dismissed by their doctors to change their doctor, or to seek a second opinion.