Kent, UK – 11th June, 2019: A hairdresser claims a doctor misdiagnosed her with tonsillitis only for medics to later discover a bleed on the brain as her condition deteriorated.
Christine Morgan, 64, said she was left hospitalised for eight weeks after battling a brain haemorrhage and stroke, and had to relearn to walk and quit her career.
The mum-of-two, who has consulted lawyers, claims she was initially suffering symptoms including beck pain and a severe headache, and her husband Dave, 65, called an out-of-hours GP to visit her at home.
Christine, from Tonbridge, Kent, said she had a raised temperature and an unusual white spot on her tonsil, and she was quickly diagnosed with tonsillitis and prescribed penicillin after the GP checked her temperature and glands.
She claims her condition worsened and her worried husband took her to A&E, where a bleed on the brain was found and Christine was forced to undergo emergency surgery.
Christine said her symptoms first surfaced when she felt a "whooshing sensation" as she coloured a client's hair, and she instantly felt a severe headache and neck pain.
She claimed: "I knew that I wasn't feeling very well but I did know it was worse than tonsillitis.
"I'd never call a doctors for tonsillitis but as my husband Dave was worried, the out of hours doctor came out to our address.
"He checked my glands and temperature and said he could see a small white lump on my tonsil.
"I was still a little bit nervous as I'd told him that I hadn't had a cough or a sore throat, but you trust the doctors - he said I had tonsillitis, and I believed him.
"Yet I didn't get better, I felt spaced out and the pain wasn't stopping, so I got my husband to ring NHS 111.
"They advised me to go to A&E, and within two days, I was having my brain opened up in an attempt to stop the bleeding."
Christine said she was initially diagnosed with tonsillitis on January 19, 2016, but by January 25 she claims was having brain surgery in an attempt to limit long lasting damage from her initial stroke.
Christine added: "Those six days cost me crucial time - the surgery left me paralysed entirely on my left side, I had to try relearn to walk and my left foot will now always have drop-foot.
"We'll never know for sure, if I'd had the operation early on, if it would have stopped such severe changes.
"But this has changed our lives completely - I can't work, and my husband is now my full time career.
"I try to stay upbeat but life is very, very different - the adverts on TV always say to act quickly in a stroke.
"The misdiagnosis delayed that, the doctors who cared for me at St George's Hospital, London, were amazing, they couldn't believe the signs had been missed."
She has hired law firm Irwin Mitchell to pursue a case.
Leena Savjani, a medical negligence solicitor, said: "Christine has faced an incredibly difficult few years and the impact of what happened continues to have a profound impact on her and her family.
"The symptoms Christine experienced are the classic signs of a potential sub-arachnoid haemorrhage and warranted urgent hospital admission for further investigation and treatment.
"Her story is a reminder of the importance for all medical professionals to be aware of the signs of a stroke and take appropriate action at all times.
"We will continue to support Christine and her family to help them come to terms with what happened."
The medical centre that treated her declined to comment on the ongoing case.
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hairdresser-told-tonsillitis-actually-brain-16499271