I went to the opticians after suffering dry eyes... now I've been given MONTHS to live
- Rachael Burns, 22, from Northern Ireland, was given devastating news in May
A woman who went to the opticians after suffering from dry eyes has revealed how she has been left with just months to live.
Rachael Burns, 22, from Northern Ireland, had been suffering from from migraines for several years, but noticed that her symptoms worsened after giving birth to her daughter Raeya, now aged one.
Ms Burns was sent home from an opticians appointment with a 'dry eye' and given eye drops and glasses but noticed her condition worsened dramatically to the point that her face became lopsided.
When she was unable to open one eye, Rachael was eventually referred to Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
She shared how her 'world fell apart' after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and given just one year left to live.
A woman who went to the opticians after suffering from dry eyes has revealed how she has been left with just months to live
Rachael Burns, 22, from Northern Ireland , had been suffering from from migraines for several years, but noticed that her symptoms worsened after giving birth to her daughter Raeya, now aged one
Rachael said: 'I was told that the life expectancy of someone with my diagnosis was 12 months, and I had already been showing symptoms for eight.
'I just didn't expect to receive news that awful. I'd hoped to maybe have at least a year or two. This hugely affected me mentally. I just sort of crumbled.'
After first experiencing painful symptoms in March 2023, Rachael had to spend a number of days in bed to ease the pressure in her head.
She continued: 'Specsavers said I had ''dry eye'' and was doubly short sighted. I was sent home with eyedrops and glasses which just made me feel dizzier.
'My eyesight worsened, leading to me walk in front of cars due to the blind spot on my right side. I could no longer take my daughter out of the house on my own as I was so worried I would put her in danger.
'I felt like I was being dramatic, and this led to me waiting even longer to get help.'
Rachael was finally diagnosed with a brain tumour in May 2024 following a referral to urgent care, but because the tumour is located on Rachael's brainstem, doctors are unable to operate to remove it.
The 22-year-old is now undertaking 58 sessions of radiotherapy, consisting of 30 sessions on her brain and 28 sessions on her spinal cord.
Rachael added: 'Some days I'll wake up and my legs won't work, and I'll be crying in agony for hours at a time with the pain.
Rachael was diagnosed with a brain tumour in May 2024 following a referral to urgent care. Pictured with her younger brother Ryan
Rachael and her family are now in the process of fundraising via GoFundMe to pay for potentially life-extending treatment. Rachael is seen here with her family
'My partner Robert has had to take over most of our daughter's care and it makes me feel so useless, like I'm already being stripped of a lot of my motherhood.
'Some days I can walk unassisted and I'm able to lift Raeya. All I can do is hope that I get as many good days like that as possible because memories with my family are all that matter to me now.
'I am not ready to leave my family and my baby. One year is not anywhere near enough time to get to experience the gift of motherhood and have it stripped from you.
'I'll never see Raeya walk down the aisle and for what? Just bad luck? It isn't fair. I may not get to take her to her first day of school but any extra days with her will be a blessing so I will fight with everything in me to wake up to her each morning.
Rachael and her family are now in the process of fundraising via GoFundMe to pay for potentially life-extending treatment - and are already halfway to their goal of raising £150,000 to cover medical costs, travel expenses and accommodation.
The ONC201 drug - which is given privately in Germany - has previously prolonged patients' lives by almost two years.
She said: 'Something needs to be done to help people in situations similar to mine.
'There is not enough awareness and not enough funding put into brain tumour research when it is killing innocent children and young adults every single day and the world is going on as normal.
'If more people knew just how devastating the effects of brain tumours are on not just the person diagnosed but their entire family and everyone around them who loves them, maybe we could push for more options and more treatments as nobody deserves a fate this cruel.'
The family are already halfway to their goal of raising £150,000 to cover medical costs, travel expenses and accommodation
