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'Pins and needles turned out to be deadly spiderweb in my brain'

EXCLUSIVE: Mum-of-five Bryony Hill from Selston, Nottinghamshire, is living on borrowed time after receiving a devastating diagnosis after what initially seemed to be a minor problem

[Bryony sitting up in hospital bed]

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Bryony was given dreadful news after undergoing an MRI scan(Image: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA)

A mum claims doctors dismissed her pins and needles as an old rock climbing injury - before they found terminal brain cancer had made a 'spiderweb' in her head.

Bryony Hill says she first visited her GP in September 2025 with concerns of headaches and that she had a 'lumpy skull', and was simply given migraine medication.

When the mum-of-five began suffering ankle pain in October she visited A&E and claims she was told she had tendonitis thanks to breaking her ankle while rock climbing 18 years earlier.

[Bryony with her five children outside hospital]

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The mum of five has an incurable tumour(Image: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA)

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But the stay-at-home mum says the 'tingling' in her right foot eventually got worse and spread through the right side of her body, so in in April 2026 she was referred for an MRI.

Whilst waiting for the scan, Bryony's husband James Hill, 42, had planned a trip away for her 40th birthday in May but the day before she woke up after having a seizure and was rushed to hospital.

There an emergency MRI revealed Bryony had a brain tumour and following a biopsy she received the devastating news that she had stage 4 glioblastoma, which is inoperable due to it spreading like a 'spiderweb'.

[Bryony undergoing an MRI scan]

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An MRI scan revealed the awful truth(Image: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA)

Glioblastomas are the most common and most malignant primary brain tumour, which usually spread quickly to other parts of the brain and so are difficult to treat.

Bryony, who is from Selston, Nottinghamshire, said: "I went to the doctors last year and I had quite a few headaches and I just went and spoke about that and I did mention while I was there that I felt like I had a lumpy skull.

"I mentioned it to my doctor at the time and he prescribed me some medication because I was having migraines. I've got an older break in my ankle from 18 years ago so on my right side I have screws in my ankle.

[Bryony with her husband]

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She had spoken to her husband about having difficulties(Image: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA)

"I randomly had a really bad pain on my ankle and I couldn't walk on it so I went to the doctors about it in A&E. They just thought it was tendonitis and they were like 'oh well have some crutches, take some medicine but we can't really see any problems.'

"It was April this year I got a tingling in my foot. It just started to feel tingly and I had already given it four weeks [since the A&E visit] before coming into the doctors.

"The tingling was just getting worse and I mentioned [to doctors] that I'd got a previous fracture, I'd been treated for tendonitis. The doctor decided to book me in for an MRI."

[Bryony covered by a protective mask on a trolley]

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A doctor ordered her to undergo a scan(Image: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA)

According to the NHS, tendonitis is often caused by an injury and is when the tissue connecting muscles to bones swells and causes pain and stiffness.

The NHS also states that symptoms of brain tumours vary depending on where in the brain they are situated but one of the symptoms is progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body.

Bryony said: "If I dropped something on the floor, I wouldn't be able to feel it because all I was getting was pins and needles. It was just getting worse and further up my body.

"It got to a point where I had to stop driving for safety reasons because I was like 'I can't feel my leg.' My husband had arranged for us to go on holiday for May half term for my 40th birthday.

[Brain scan image showing tumour]

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The scan revealed the extent of the tumour(Image: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA)

"We were going to go the next day so on May 21 I went to bed that night, I woke up in the early hours to ambulance men around my head and I was coming in and out of consciousness because I had no idea what had happened and I had had a seizure. Then they discovered that I've got the tumour."

Bryony claims that initially it was believed her tumour was grade two but after receiving a biopsy doctors confirmed that it was grade four. She says her tumour 'diffuses' into her central nervous system like a 'spiderweb' so doctors are unable to remove it.

Due to it being incurable, Bryony's family have set up a fundraiser to help pay for alternative treatment abroad to give her more time with her family.

You can donate to Bryony's fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/young-mum-of-5-children-with-inoperable-brain-tumor

Bryony said: "My husband is on the internet every day trying to find anything and everything that can prolong life as much as possible. I've got five children that I'll be leaving behind, time is very precious, any extra time is huge.

[Bryony with her husband and children]

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Bryony and her family want to make the most of the time she has left(Image: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA)

"The type that I have is more like a spiderweb so it diffuses into your central nervous system so it wants to spread out like spiderwebs rather than being a removable chunk. It's not really anything you can poke around and do too much with because of the location.

"It's grade four and there is only so much they can do for that. It looks like a grade two on the outside but internally it's a grade four. They can't take it out, it's the worst type, it's the most aggressive. It just happened so fast.

"There's just so much I can't do, even just playing with my daughter. I can't get up and run to her."

A spokesperson for the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board on behalf of the GP surgery said: "We are unable to discuss individual cases, to protect patient confidentiality.

"We would encourage all patients to make contact with the practice to discuss any concerns they may have about their care."

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