A MUM spent 10 years complaining of back pain before a large tumour was discovered growing inside her spinal cord.
Now she’s being forced to walk down the aisle on crutches at her wedding.
Julie Coleman, 33, who lives in Glasgow with her fiance, Stephen, 35, and their 10-year-old son, Connor, first experienced pain in her back and legs during her pregnancy in 2014.
She was told she was suffering with sciatica and her symptoms would likely subside after giving birth.
When her “shooting”;; leg pains persisted, Julie, who used to work for Alzheimer’s Scotland but is starting a remote customer service job due to her health, spent the best part of 10 years visiting her GP surgery to raise her symptoms.
But she was referred for physiotherapy sessions and prescribed painkillers instead.
Julie said she “lost trust”;; in her GP surgery and felt as though she would be in pain for the “rest of my life”;;, when in November 2024 she was finally referred for an MRI scan.
This revealed a large, benign tumour growing inside her spinal cord.
Faced with the prospect of becoming paralysed if left untreated, Julie underwent an operation to remove the tumour in January this year.
It’s thought the damage to her nerves may have been done as she has been diagnosed with a spinal cord injury and cannot feel anything below her right knee.
With her July wedding on the horizon, Julie said she will walk down the aisle on crutches and she and her fiance will be seated for the ceremony, and she has launched a GoFundMe page to help her family cope with any unexpected costs due to her condition.
Julie said: “I worked very hard and am now home, I can walk with crutches from my front door into a car.
“Any further than that and I am still using a wheelchair. I have lost power and sensation in my right foot which has not yet returned.
“Doctors are unsure if this will ever return however nothing is certain until two years after which they then expect any changes will be permanent.
“I am looking for support to raise funds for general new and unexpected costs.
“I have also had to leave my current job, I am lucky I have been offered a different job working from home however this has come at a massive wage cut.
“I’m sure you can empathise that although wages go down, bills do not.
“Any donation is much appreciated and I hope my story inspires anyone going through something similar, or feeling like they know more is going on than health professionals believe, to keep pushing and advocating for yourself.”;;
