'My daughter's life-threatening illness was found after rollercoaster made her sick'
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When 11-year-old Connie Campbell started vomiting and experiencing headaches after a day out at Thorpe Park, her mum Tina Smith believed a rollercoaster ride had "dislodged" a brain tumour. According to Tina, Connie initially felt unwell immediately following the rough ride and, two days later, symptoms became more obvious.
Doctors later confirmed a grade-four tumour was present, which Tina believes would have spread down her daughter's spine if it hadn't been disturbed by the ride. Connie was subjected to intensive brain surgery, followed by a gruelling regimen of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, forcing her to miss a year of school.
Now 13, Connie is in recovery and, in a show of solidarity, her 54-year-old mother is set to run a marathon to raise crucial funds for Brain Tumour Research. Tina, a personal assistant from Woodford, London, said: "There’s a difference between getting thrown around a bit for fun and having your head ricochet so hard you don’t feel right after. Connie and I didn’t go on those rides again, but her dad and brother did.
"It was two days later that she started being sick, which seems too much of a coincidence for the two things not to be related. I suspect the rides dislodged her tumour and, if that’s the case, I’m glad because I was told we found it at a good time, before it spread to her spine.”.
