Ultra-fit personal trainer has spine leak and brain bleed

Linzi Todd was attending a two-day training camp to teach boot camp style fitness earlier this year when she experienced tinnitus and a throbbing headache.

The 40-year-old decided to struggle through the pain, putting her symptoms down to feeling 'overtired'. But the mum-of-one grew more concerned when her pounding headaches persisted, prompting her to visit A&E for tests.

There, Linzi was told she had 'low pressure' in her head and referred for an MRI scan, which revealed a large bleed and blood clot on her brain in May.

Terrified, Linzi feared she may not survive and said her goodbyes to her husband and daughter in the hospital waiting room.

Based on the size of Linzi's bleed, doctors were stunned that the mum was able to form a sentence - let alone have carried on with normal life unaware of the significant bleed on her brain.

In hospital, Linzi was informed that the bleed had been caused by a leak of her cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in her spine - a clear fluid that protects the brain and spine.

Linzi, who remains in hospital weeks later, says doctors believe 'over-doing it' in the gym may have worn down her spine and caused the leak.

Now, Linzi is hopeful the leak and clot will heal naturally - but is urging others to always advocate for their own health if they have any concerns.

Linzi, who lives in Northampton, Northamptonshire, said: "I was doing a training camp to teach outdoor bootcamp fitness and went to bed that evening and developed tinnitus, which I'd never had in my life.

"I woke up the next morning with a really banging headache. I popped a couple of pills, felt unwell but cracked on. "I rang the doctors and they put it down to labyrinthitis because I felt dizzy as well.

"I just thought maybe my body was tired. I'm not the type of person that gets sick. I've always been really fit and healthy. "But the headaches persisted. I would wake up with intense throbbing in my head as soon as I got up every morning. It felt like the worst brain freeze and only lying down and painkillers would give me some relief."

As her headaches worsened, Linzi visited A&E in March where she was told she had 'low pressure' in her head and advised to increase her caffeine and water intake.

After undergoing an MRI scan, Linzi was at work when she received an urgent phone call from her neurologist instructing her to come to hospital immediately after doctors spotted a 17mm blood clot and substantial bleed covering more than half of the right side of her brain.

Linzi, who is no longer a PT and now works at a mental health company, said: "I got a phone call while I was at work from the neurologist who said 'where are you right now?' and told me to get to A&E immediately and that I had a very serious condition.

"He said he could see an acute subdural hematoma on your brain, which is very serious and a very large blood clot. "He said we don't often see bleeds of this size in women of your age without any head trauma and it was a medical emergency.

"I was Googling what this condition was and it said there was a 25% survival rate. I thought, am I going to die? Do I need to plan my funeral? "It was so traumatic. I had to say goodbye to my husband and daughter. I didn't know if I was going to see them again or not.

"Doctors were baffled by how I was presenting based on my scans and what they found. I was high risk of a stroke and seizure, yet I was passing all of their cognitive and reflex tests. "It's normally found in boxers, rugby players, horse-riders - someone that has had a trauma to the head.

"I was walking around with that in my brain and it could've killed me." Linzi was later told the bleed on her brain was caused by fluid leaking from her spine, which she suspects may have been caused by years of intense exercise.

Linzi is due to have an epidural blood patch to help seal the leak and aid the clot and bleed in her brain to naturally disperse.

Linzi said doctors said the leak can happen to fit and active people who 'overdo it' and put too much pressure on their spine, which is what they believe may have happened to her.

Linzi said: "There's no real way of knowing what exactly has caused this. They [doctors] believe I may have overdone it during exercise and caused a tear in my dura - however I wouldn't have felt this happen and only the symptoms in my head later on.

"Because I've been consistently active, it's just consistently worn down and created this leak. It's just unlucky it's happened to me.

"I don't want anyone to be put off exercise because it's a very rare thing to happen but it's the only logical reasoning for why this happened.

"I never thought a bad bout of headaches would result in this and nearly three weeks in hospital. "I had to push every single step of the way. It would've had a different ending if I hadn't pushed as much as I did with doctors. I absolutely would've died.

"I just knew there was something wrong. I always tell others to listen to their own body and gut. Push to get seen and get answers. You'd rather get a normal result than leave it and it be too late."