I dismissed headaches until my dog's sixth sense revealed I had brain tumour

Robyn Stonier had been complaining of headaches for the last three years, but put her daily pain down to hormones or stress.

However, in March last year, the 26-year-old was celebrating her mum's birthday when their family dog Ember made a bee-line across the garden to run into Robyn's head.

The Labrador, who was one at the time, collided with Robyn's left temple, causing a painful headache that lasted around an hour.

Over the next few days, Robyn began experiencing dizziness and intense pressure headaches, which she believed was linked to the accident with Ember.

But soon Robyn found she was unable to walk in a straight line, prompting her to undergo a CT scan that revealed a type of brain tumour known as a meningioma.

Robyn, who works as a finance analyst, underwent a nine-hour brain surgery to have the 3.5cm tumour removed, forcing her to call off her dream wedding in Cyprus just months before the big day.

Despite reassurances the tumour was benign, Robyn was told after the operation that the mass was in fact cancerous and she'd need to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Robyn has since been told she is now cancer-free, and credits her two-year-old Labrador's 'sixth sense' for helping uncover the tumour.

Robyn, who lives in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, said: "I'd been suffering with daily headaches for years but just put it down to stress or hormones.

"I went to the doctors once and they said it was probably to do with the pill. There were no other symptoms apart from the headaches.

"In March last year, I was bent down tying my sister's shoes for her and as I was doing that, my mum's labrador Ember ran from one side of the garden straight into the house and ran into the left temple of my head.

"It gave me a headache for about an hour and I took some paracetamol and ibuprofen and it went away.

"She never usually jumped up at me. I didn't really think anything of it.

"I definitely think it's all Ember's doing that I found out about it. I think she saved my life. I fully believe dogs have a sixth sense.

"I could've just carried on with my normal life. If they hadn't found it when they did, I don't think it would've been curable."

A few days later, Robyn began suffering dizziness and intense pain on the back of her head, which she put down to the accident with Ember.

However, Robyn decided to go to A&E when she began vomiting and was left unable to walk in a straight line.

After undergoing a CT scan, Robyn was told she had a 1cm brain tumour known as a meningioma, which was likely benign, but would need removed.

Robyn said: "I tried to just live with it for about three weeks but I began deteriorating really quickly.

"I couldn't walk. I had to sit on my bum to go downstairs. I was literally bedbound.

"I lost all my coordination. I began violently throwing up again. I got this really bad pressure headache again.

"It was so intense I thought I was going to die. I was screaming and crying and it just wouldn't go."

Robyn was bluelighted to hospital where she underwent nine-hour brain surgery to have the tumour removed, which had now grown to 3.5cm and contained three cysts.

Devastated, Robyn was forced to cancel her Cyprus wedding to 27-year-old fiance Tyler Clarke after two years of planning.

After the operation, Robyn was diagnosed with an Ewing sarcoma in her brain, which was cancerous and would require an intense treatment plan.

Despite contracting sepsis multiple times and a severe infection in her stomach, Robyn made a miraculous recovery and was given the all-clear earlier this month.

Robyn said: "It was awful having to cancel the wedding. We'd been waiting until 2022 to get married.

"It's definitely been a year from hell. I definitely think when Ember hit me that she set the tumour off in some way, made the cysts swell up, which gave me the pressure headaches.

"If you're suffering with regular headaches, get it checked out, push for an MRI. Don't let doctors fob you off."