A Lincolnshire woman saved by the neurosurgery team at Hull Royal Infirmary has presented a painting created by her sister to the ward as a “thank you” for giving her back her life.
Nicola Crofts was diagnosed with meningioma, a tumour that forms in the membranous layers surrounding the brain and spinal cord,and underwent brain surgery carried out by Consultant Neurosurgeon Adam Razak and his team last April.
Nicola’s artist sister Michelle Pearson created the oil on canvas to reflect Nicola’s journey after she was diagnosed.
“It reflects how I was feeling at the time – the frustration, the pain and the fear – and, even now, I look at that picture and it’s amazing,” says Nicola. “It captures it all.”
Now, a year and a day after surgery, Nicola has returned to Ward 4 at Hull Royal Infirmary to present Mr Razak and staff from the ward with the oil painting charting her journey from diagnosis to surgery and then recovery after the tumour, thankfully non-cancerous, was removed.
Nicola, who lives in Sutton-on-Sea in Lincolnshire, said: “When I was diagnosed, I did think I was going to die, although I never told anyone.
“I’d two close family members who’d died from brain tumours and that knowledge, along with physical anxiety caused by the tumour, did have an impact on me. I took myself away from everybody – my family, my friends and my colleagues at work.
“But having surgery completely changed my life and brought me back to the person I was before.
“When you’ve been in that position, it’s hard to thank someone enough for what they’ve done so this is a way of trying to show them how they helped me.”
Nicola’s family have strong ties with Ward 4 as her brother-in-law Paul Walden, husband of her sister Mandy, underwent treatment for glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain tumour, there before his death in November 2020.
“Mandy and her two daughters say Paul received amazing treatment on Ward 4 and remember how wonderful the staff were,” Nicola said.
“My sister painted me another picture once I’d recovered and she said she would like to donate this one to the ward where staff, the surgeons and patients might be able to relate to it.”
Nicola offered the painting to Mr Razak when she came to the hospital recently for a review and was given the all-clear.
Members of the team who had cared for Nicola before, during and after surgery, gathered on the ward when Nicola and Michelle returned to Hull Royal this week to present them with the painting.
Mr Razak said: “It’s a beautiful painting and we’re so touched that Nicola and Michelle would think to donate it to the ward. I’m sure it will bring comfort to many people.”
