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It came out of the blue, leaving one Mount Maunganui family in the dark.
Now Ella Weatherall, a local lifeguard and teenager at Mount Maunganui College, is hoping to shine light on how a brain tumour changed her life this year and the steps she’s taking to help others.
Ella’s nightmare began in April, with the then-16-year-old suffering a week of virus-like symptoms, which came to a head – literally – on April 19.
With symptoms persisting, she was taken to Tauranga Hospital for further checks and, within hours, was on her way to Waikato Hospital by ambulance after scans revealed a brain tumour in her cerebellum.
“One moment I was doing everything a normal teenager should be doing and the next I was in hospital with tubes and machines surrounding me.
“I don’t remember much at all about those first few days but one thing I do remember is the support from my family and friends and having them with me helped me get through those really tough days.”
Those first few days involved round-the-clock monitoring, followed by an MRI scan which showed the seriousness of the situation, but also hope – the tumour was right next to the brain stem but not quite touching.
By Wednesday, Ella was being wheeled into an operating theatre.
Ella Weatherall's nightmare began in April, with the then-16-year-old suffering a week of virus-like symptoms. Photo / Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media.
”The eight hours of the surgery was one of the longest days of our lives,” father Mark Weatherall recalled, as he spent the entire time at the hospital waiting with Ella’s mother Annette Weatherall and her brother Flynn.
“We all went through a range of emotions and it was so hard but we knew she was in the best possible hands, so all we could do was wait.”
Doctors detached Ella’s neck muscles and removed part of her skull to get to the tumour, which they removed, then put her head back together.
The surgery was a success and doctors were quietly confident they had been able to get it all and initial observations suggested the tumour was not malignant, but only histology could prove that.
That led to more waiting for Ella’s vast network of friends and family.
Teenaged mates couldn’t believe it had happened to someone they knew and their parents agonised, knowing how tough it would be for any parent to have to go through that with their child.
”We are eternally grateful for the love and support we received – that is the stuff that gets you through tough times,” Mark and Annette said.
Subsequent tests gave the tumour an official diagnosis – Pilocytic Astrocytoma. To the relief of friends and loved ones, it meant it was benign.
But that was just the first step in Ella’s journey.
The recovery from surgery was excruciating, especially from the trauma to her neck muscles. And like the worst concussion imaginable, the invasion of her brain meant her body did not want to do what it used to be able to do, with things like fine motor skills affected.
Even now, she’s plagued by ongoing headaches. She still gets tired and needs plenty of quiet time.
”But I know that I’m one of the lucky ones and I’m so grateful for the support that helped me through,” Ella said.
Ella Weatherall. Photo / Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media.
As a lifeguard with the Omanu Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, many of Ella’s teen years have been spent volunteering and saving lives.
And now she’s set her sights on raising money for brain tumour research, by training for and attempting to complete a half-marathon in November. She’s hoping to use her own journey to recovery to help others.
