When Ella Pick struggled to keep up with her friends during a girls’ holiday in Zante, she blamed it on her hangover.
But the 19-year-old’s world was turned upside down when doctors revealed she had an incurable brain tumor.
The cashier, from Boston in Lincolnshire, was heartbreakingly given a year to live.
While there is no evidence that her symptoms during her holiday to the Greek island last June were due to her brain tumor, similar symptoms are known to occur.
Mrs. Pick said she felt “out” at the end of a weeklong trip to Zante with four of her friends to celebrate the end of college.
Ella Pick, 19, said she felt ‘off’ towards the end of a week-long trip to Zante with four of her friends to celebrate the end of university last June, but blamed her drinking and partying
When she got home, she suffered a severe migraine before her left eye floated inward
However, her symptoms worsened when she returned home.
Miss Pick said: ‘It all started when I went to Zante for a holiday with my girls. It was amazing.
‘The first two or three nights I felt absolutely fine. We all had the best time.
‘I didn’t exactly feel sick then, I just didn’t feel sick. I didn’t drink that much or go out that often.
‘I thought it might be a hangover. I just felt bad. Looking back now, I think things obviously weren’t going well for me.’
Miss Pick, pictured with her friend on holiday, said she had a great holiday but was feeling ‘not well’
Now she looks back on her holiday to Zante and knows that she did not feel well. At the time she thought it was just a hangover
She added: ‘We got home and I felt fine, but about a week later I started getting severe migraines.
‘The pressure in the back of my head was terrible. I’ve always suffered from migraines, but never to this extent.
‘Then my left eye slid inwards, towards the center of my face. I went for an eye test and they referred me to hospital saying it was ‘a big concern.’
Miss Pick was rushed to hospital after a particularly bad migraine in the shower.
Although Miss Pick had suffered from migraines for a number of years, it is not known whether these were related to the tumor or not.
Doctors discovered a lump in her brain, which was eventually diagnosed as a diffuse midline glioma.
The cancer is incurable and inoperable. Miss Pick was given an estimated 12 months to live last July.
Diffuse midline gliomas, or DIPGs, most commonly affect children. The fast-growing tumor can also occur in adults.
It grows in the midline, between the two hemispheres of the brain, and kills the majority of those who get it within a year, says the Brain Tumor Charity.
It often causes problems with balance and walking, weakness in the arms and legs, difficulty controlling facial expressions, speech problems, difficulty swallowing and chewing, and double vision or problems controlling eye movements.
It can also cause nausea, fatigue and headaches.
After her diagnosis, Miss Pick was forced to turn down an interview for her dream job as a cabin crew for British Airways.
She said she has felt “numb” since her prognosis and wants to make as many memories with her friends and family as possible with the time she has left.
Miss Pick said: ‘I just felt completely numb. It still doesn’t feel real.
“Everyone around me is in more pain than me.”
She added: ‘They can’t say exactly how long I have left because I can’t get a biopsy because of where the tumor is.
‘If I were to have a biopsy they would most likely paralyze me so they can’t tell exactly how many months I have left.
After a CT scan and MRI, doctors discovered a lump in her brain that was later identified as a diffuse midline glioma in her brain stem
The cancer (shown in the scan) is incurable and inoperable – Miss Pick was given an estimated 12 months to live in July last year
Miss Pick is now trying to make memories with her friends and family. Last year she underwent a six-week course of radiotherapy in the hope of slowing the progression of the tumor
‘I’m back to work and prefer to continue with normal life. I have been on holiday a few times with my family. We’re just trying to make the best of the time we have.”
Last year she underwent a six-week course of radiotherapy in the hope of slowing the progression of the tumor.
Her latest scan showed that the tumor was stable and ‘not growing’ after treatment.
Miss Pick said: ‘There are always different trials with different drugs. I would like to try everything.
‘You never expect something like this to happen at eighteen. It’s like a movie. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, even though I’ve known about it for nine months.
“I’m just trying to get away with as much as I can and stay positive.”