Walsall keyworker's stress seizures lead to tumour diagnosis

Helen said after her diagnosis she has perused a new career helping people with brain trauma

A keyworker during the pandemic who discovered she had a brain tumour after experiencing seizures in her sleep will take on a charity bike ride.

Helen Green, from Bloxwich, thought the seizures she experienced for two months were caused by the stresses of life and her job at Asda.

An MRI scan at Walsall Manor Hospital showed Ms Green had a low-grade meningioma.

Ms Green said since her diagnosis her "perspective on life has changed".

"I feel like the luckiest person on the planet that I am still here and I have been given a voice to fight for a cure for those who have lost theirs," the mother-of-two said.

Ms Green will take on the Cycle 274 Miles in August Challenge for Brain Tumour Research.

"I was given this tumour to help make a difference," she said.

Helen has been training for the charity bike ride which started on Monday

Ms Green said she began to "forget things that had happened that day and had trouble relaying information".

"I thought the seizures could be epilepsy and despite my anxiety around feeling claustrophobic during the scan, I knew I needed to have it to find out what was wrong," she added.

In July 2021, surgeons at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham removed the 6cm tumour, confirming the mass was a low-grade meningioma and Ms Green would be monitored with regular scans.

Ms Green's new look on life has prompted her to not only take part in the charity challenge but she has "recently joined a community choir and I am working on pursuing a new career, working with people who have experienced brain trauma".