The tragic death of a new mom who blamed her dizziness on her “baby brain”.
Aneka Johnston, 33, said she initially survived her frequent bouts of dizziness, but she collapsed while holding her daughter, Sienna, who was 6 months old at the time.
The former dietitian was rushed to the hospital in June 2019 when she began to faint, and it was eventually revealed by her doctors that she had a terminal brain tumor.
“Aneka wanted to see her daughter grow up,” she said.
Her doctors initially blamed her dizziness on the herpes simplex virus and put her on antibiotics.
However, further tests revealed she had stage 4 glioblastoma, a progressive cancer that begins in the brain and spinal cord.
Glioblastoma is the most common brain tumor in adults, with approximately 2,500 cases diagnosed each year in the UK.
According to the NHS, there is currently no cure for the disease.
Alan, Aneka’s childhood friend, said, “There was fear in her eyes, like any 33-year-old, she was frightened.
“All I wanted was to be her mother, to be with Sienna on her 18th birthday and to see her get married,” she added.
Alan, 38, and Aneka met when she was 17 and Alan was 18, and “love at first sight” was said to have occurred during her army vacation.
She got married in 2015 and later gave birth to Sienna (4 years old) on October 13, 2018.
After her diagnosis, Anneka’s health deteriorated and she spent her final months in hospital.
Eventually, she was transferred to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, where she remained in her palliative care ward, with Alan visiting her frequently.
Alan said she “can only see the real Aneka for 30 seconds even if we’re together 24 hours a day.”
Anneka passed away on November 18, 2019, six months after her diagnosis.
This year, Alan will be attending the London Marathon in memory of Aneka and making a donation to The Brain Tumor Organization.
So far Alan has walked 215 miles across Scotland in one week and raised €62,000 for her charity.
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