A man who was rushed to hospital with an ear infection was told he only had months to live after being diagnosed. Being a terminal brain tumor.
When Dave Whitford, 49, first turned around, he realized something wasn’t right and sat in his garden and started vomiting.
The next day he was rushed to the hospital where doctors told him he was suffering from an inner ear infection caused by an insect bite.
Dave was still sick and struggling to keep his balance, so doctors did a scan on his head, which showed little growth on his brain.
The mass was monitored for two years and when it started to grow, doctors decided to remove it. Then they discovered the mass was an incurable brain tumor.
Dave was devastated when he was told he had a year to 18 months to live.
He said: “It took a month for them to realize how bad it was when they got rid of it.
“They thought it might be a grade two tumor to begin with, but it was diagnosed and came back as grade four, which is the worst.
“I’m supposed to live 12 to 18 months but longer, I don’t know.
“I cried when I found out. I was just devastated.”
The father of one likes to visit the US and wish him a happy 50th birthday if he doesn’t reach the milestone.
Dave, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: “My 50th birthday is this May so I had a birthday party last year to celebrate my 50th birthday.
“So I invited about 60 people, including my family and friends.”
(Dave Whitford/SWNS)
(Dave Whitford/SWNS)
Along with removing the mass, Dave underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
But because he underwent so much treatment and had part of his brain removed, he now suffers from severe side effects such as short-term memory loss and fatigue.
He said: “I have no energy and I get cold easily so I have to have a special sheet to keep me warm.
“They were doing an operation on the left side, so I had a ringing in my ear which was really annoying, especially when I was trying to sleep.
(Dave Whitford/SWNS)
“It affects people differently and it affects my short-term memory so I forget a lot of things.”
Dave worked as a bus driver until he got sick, because his driver’s license was taken away when doctors discovered he had a brain tumor.
For the past three years, he has been able to work odd jobs for people, but now he has had to stop working because of the severity of his symptoms.
Dave established Go Fund Me page To help with expenses when unable to work.