WE LOVE QA: '˜When I needed it most, hospital staff were brilliant' says dad who had a brain tumour

DAD-of-three Andy Tudor had never been to hospital until this year.
Andy and Jane Tudor 
Picture: Habibur Rahman (171256-377)Andy and Jane Tudor 
Picture: Habibur Rahman (171256-377)
Andy and Jane Tudor Picture: Habibur Rahman (171256-377)

The 52-year-old was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour in January and received life-saving care from medical teams at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.

Andy is now praising the hospital for his treatment and keeping him calm through what he calls ‘a very scary time in my life’.

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He said: ‘In January I started feeling very, very sick and got bad headaches.

Andy Tudor after the operationAndy Tudor after the operation
Andy Tudor after the operation

‘I couldn’t move my left arm or leg and was struggling to talk.

‘My wife Jane called a GP who, after coming to see me, said we needed to go to hospital.

‘I was taken by ambulance to A&E at QA Hospital and, after a CT scan and MRI scan, I was told I had a brain tumour.’

The tumour was 8cm in diameter and needed to be removed.

Andy Tudor after the operationAndy Tudor after the operation
Andy Tudor after the operation
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Andy, from Denmead, was taken to Southampton General Hospital and, after a six-hour operation, the tumour was removed. He was taken back to QA to recover.

In total, he spent six days in QA and said staff were brilliant.

Since the operation, Andy has been given the all clear and his surgeon is hopeful of a full recovery.

Andy is sharing his story as part of The News’ We Love QA campaign.

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Over the past few weeks we have been encouraging patients who received exceptional or life-saving treatment to share their stories and highlight the fantastic work by the staff at QA.

Andy said he could not fault the service he received.

He added: ‘They were absolutely brilliant.

‘Before this, I had never been to hospital. When I needed it most, they were brilliant.

‘It was a scary time for me because I had no history of brain tumours in my family and I didn’t know anything about them.

‘The staff were really calming and kept us informed, answering all the questions we had.

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‘During my stay at QA I was on three different wards and met so many nurses, doctors and support staff so I have seen the whole system and how amazing they all are.

‘The staff there saved my life. For me, someone who has never spent time in hospital, they were miracle workers.’