A man has been dubbed a “walking miracle” after doctors found two fused tumours in his brain that had been growing for up to five years – with a headache serving as the only warning sign.
Tim Cooper, 57, from Sutton, Surrey, had no idea anything was wrong until he suddenly collapsed in the street on 28 October 2018.
He was found by a stranger and taken to hospital, where doctors discovered the huge tumour – which was actually two tumours joined together – and confirmed it was not malignant.
Tim was rushed into surgery to remove the tumour.
Although Tim had a few symptoms before he collapsed, he never expected them to be due to a brain tumour.
“I was comfortable with my health before I knew about the brain tumour, overweight but generally happy,” Tim, an entrepreneur and author, told Jam Press.
“I was experiencing severe headaches, but they would clear after a sleep so, I didn’t approach my doctor about it.
“I had lost my drive and motivation, but this was only explained to be related to the tumour once I was diagnosed.”
On the day he collapsed, he had been playing golf with friends and then had dinner.
He remembers being one of the last to leave and knows he booked an Uber home – but it was cancelled when he didn’t arrive.
Instead, he went to the road where he grew up – Connaught Road in New Malden – where he was then found lying on the pavement.
He said: “A young man had seen me walking along the pavement ahead of him one minute, then the next I was not there.
“He came to my aid, saw that I was unconscious and had severely injured my face. He called the emergency services for an ambulance but they estimated that it would be two hours before they could get to us.
“Then my mobile phone rang and the young man answered it. It was Kashmir, my wife calling to find out where I was and as soon as someone else answered she feared the worst.”
Kashmir immediately jumped into her car and drove for one hour to New Malden to take Tim to the nearest hospital, with the stranger named Jacob helping her get him into the car.
Soon after arriving at hospital, Tim vomited “dark matter” – which he now knows was dead blood – three times and it was clear his condition was serious.
A CT scan and X-ray revealed that he had lesions across the frontal lobes of his brain.
Tim said: “I was not able to take all this in when it was explained to us as I was heavily sedated with the medication I have been put on.
“My wife completely realised the full magnitude of the diagnosis and had to face this all on her own.
“It was an incredibly difficult time for both of us and what our future might hold.”
After a further review of his scans by the team at St. Georges Hospital, Tooting, Tim was told he would need urgent surgery and was booked in for 20 November, where doctors would remove as much of the tumours as possible and confirm if it was cancerous.
Luckily, the surgery was a success and after 11 days in hospital, Tim was able to go home – but this was only the start of his journey.
He said: “The team felt comfortable that all of the tumours had been removed and the biopsy confirmed that the tumours were not cancerous.
“As a result of how much my brain was cut into for the surgery, I suffered from organic psychosis which was compounded by a bad reaction to my anti-epileptic medication which caused some serious side effects.”
Tim’s behaviour became increasingly erratic as a result.
He said: “My psychosis was really taking hold of me and putting extreme pressure on my marriage, I had become aggressive, acting strangely and making irrational decisions.”
He was admitted to St George’s again and spent seven days in hospital with the neuropsychiatric team, who prescribed an antipsychotic medication.
Slowly, his condition started to improve after his release from hospital.
Throughout lockdown, Tim continued to work with his team and was able to gradually reduce his medication.
In February 2021, he was discharged by his neuropsychiatrist and decided to write a book about his experiences.
He called the book The Stone in my Head after the nickname he gave the tumour when explaining his condition to his niece, collaborating on the publication with national biographer StoryTerrace.
Tim said: “I felt I had to write it to give hope to others. I am one of the lucky ones.
“I had received such support from St Georges and the NHS that I felt I had to write a book about my experiences overcoming a very nearly fatal moment in my life.
“I have a story that I hope provides hope to others and that there is a chance to come through to the other side.
“My motto throughout was onwards and upwards and that remains the same today.”
