A WOMAN who had to undergo 10-hour brain surgery while fully conscious to remove a golf ball-sized tumour has made a miraculous recovery.

Ann Swadden from West Swindon was told that she would most likely have to learn to speak from scratch after the operation. But she defied the odds and hasn’t had any ill effects.

The 26-year-old HR assistant, had to keep talking, so medics could ensure her speech was normal while they performed the delicate procedure.

She had a slow-growing brain tumour, a benign growth developing from the brain’s cells.

Recounting the operation: “It was a very emotional and stressful time. I was briefed before about not panicking or sudden movements as I could die if the surgeon makes one wrong move.

“I was very anxious about my head being cut open but being awake during the surgery was a surreal experience. It was a very odd feeling, as I could hear them talking and moving around, but I couldn’t feel anything.

“I could hear everything around me and I was talking and constantly being shown pictures.”

Her brain had ‘remapped’ while the tumour was pressing against it, so her speech part switched across to the other side.

Ann was told that she would be having an ‘awake craniotomy’, meaning that her skull would be cut open and surgeons would operate while she was conscious.

The operation was done in 2017 at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

The surgeon told her that she would have to take 12 weeks off before going back to work but due to her feeling so good after surgery she went back just six weeks later.

It took over a year for Ann to have the operation done after being diagnosed March 2016. She had suffered severe headaches for six years before being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

When she came round, after her skull was closed at the end of the 10-hour procedure, she awoke to her husband Alan Swadden, 30, by her side. The hospital kept her in for four days to make sure she was fully okay, before returning home to continue recovery.

The operation was a success and Ann is now recovered but needs regular scans to ensure the tumour does not grow back.

Ann added: “When you go to the doctors you never think it is going to be something serious, then when you get the terrifying news that it is, you go in denial.

“I wish I was more honest about the way I felt instead of bottling up my emotions. I should have asked for more help because when you don’t it makes you feel like you are fighting this alone.”