A 12-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being kicked in the head during a rugby match – only for doctors to discover a hidden brain tumour.
What was first feared to be a simple concussion turned into every parent’s worst nightmare, as scans revealed the boy had been unknowingly living with a potentially deadly condition.
Roman King and his mother, Charlotte, now face an agonising wait to discover whether the tumour is cancerous.
Roman, who plays for Wallsend RFC under-12s rugby team in Newcastle, was injured during a game against Doncaster Knights in February.
His mother recalled her name being screamed as the coach tried to pick him up off the floor.
The 42-year-old said when first aiders asked for his name, he replied “Roman”, but when asked where he was, he responded “Roman” again. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors confirmed he was concussed and kept him in for seven hours as a precaution.
He was sent home to recover, but five days later he started to be sick, and over the following days his mother noticed he was struggling to speak.
“I couldn’t get a sentence out of him. His words were really slurred. He’s always had a stammer, but it was worse,” she told The Independent.
“It was hard to pin what was wrong, but I knew something was, and it was like a dark cloud over me,” she added.
The single mother of three said Roman even started to forget what he had eaten that day.
Ms King called doctors to insist her son have more tests. In March, Roman went for a CT scan, which revealed he had a 1.2cm lesion on the right side of his brain in the cerebellum – the part of the brain responsible for attention and language.
After the scan, Roman went back to school, but minutes after Ms King returned from dropping him off, a doctor called and requested he go back to hospital for an MRI scan, which confirmed he had a brain tumour.
Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
More than 12,500 are people diagnosed each year with a primary brain tumour – including 500 children and young people.
There is some crossover between symptoms of concussion and a brain tumour.
Common symptoms of brain tumours include headaches, feeling or being sick and seizures, while concussion can also cause headaches, dizziness and nausea. However, anyone affected by these symptoms should see a doctor.
Roman had a four-hour operation to remove the tumour at the beginning of April and a biopsy has been sent for testing.
However, Ms King explained that surgeons were unable to remove the whole tumour due to its location.
“When he woke up from surgery, he was just hungry, he wanted to get cleaned up and go home. The doctors said he was one of the strongest patients on the ward,” she said.
The diagnosis of a brain tumour came as a massive shock to both Roman and his family, and although they still don’t know what the full diagnosis is, Ms King feels lucky that it was picked up.
She said: “The tumour was not related to the concussion because it has been there for quite a while, but if he hadn’t bumped his head, doctors may not have taken it seriously.”
As a single mother, Ms King – who has only recently started a new job as a support worker – is bearing both the emotional and financial strain. A GoFundMe page has been set up by the rugby club to help support the family so they can concentrate solely on Roman’s treatment and recovery.
