In an emotional interview, presenter Philippa Forrester has revealed how doctors told her it was “very likely” she was going to lose her teenage son, after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Speaking on Monday’s This Morning, Philippa, 49, explained how the family had moved to Wyoming in the US back in July 2016, in the hopes it would give Fred, then 15, “a whole new lease of life.”
On the sofa with presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, the Robot Wars star explained: “He was struggling to organise himself, struggling to concentrate. He would forget everything. He was tired all the time.”
Friends told Philippa and her husband, producer Charlie not to worry, telling them: “He’s 15, what do you expect? He’s going to be scatty, he’s going to be tired.”
The Tomorrow’s World host considered options including migraines and inattentive ADHD, but it turned out to be something much more serious.
Looking emotional, Philippa revealed how Fred’s brain tumour was discovered after an eye test.
Phil explained: “You went to the opticians and they said both of the optic nerves were swollen and you should go for an MRI scan?”
Philippa continued: “The next day he was in the MRI. He came out looking white as a sheet and I thought, ‘Oh he’s going to vomit’, but no, he went into his first seizure at that point.
“We were code blue, straight to the emergency room, they got him on an IV with anti-seizure medication in.
“They took us then out of the room, and sat us down, and said, ‘Your boy is really sick’.”
Her voice breaking, Philippa added that doctors showed her the scan of his brain, adding: “He didn’t need to say anything else, it was really obvious, it was massive. It was six cm by four by four.”
Mum-of-three Holly said: “The outlook, and the diagnosis was poor?”
Philippa added: “I said, ‘Are we going to lose him?’ and the guy said, ‘I think you are’.”
Four hours of surgery followed, which Holly compared to “hell on earth” for any mother.
Philippa agreed, adding that she wondered: “Are we going to get Fred back, ever? Is he going to be the same person afterwards? What are they going to find? Will they get it all out?”
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Philippa – who is also mum to boys Arthur and Gus – was appearing on the ITV show as part of brain tumour awareness month.
She is keen to raise awareness of the symptoms, which also included tinnitus, recurrent headaches and dizziness.
Thankfully, eighteen months after the surgery, Fred is doing “better and better all the time”.
After the show, Philippa took to Instagram to thank producers for having her on.
Beside a picture with Holly and Phil, she wrote: “Thank you so much for all the messages of support today and to #thismorning and @schofe @hollywilloughby for making me feel at home. I have passed all good wishes to Fred.
“Together we can make a difference for the thirty people who receive a heartbreaking diagnosis every day, #thebraintumourcharity #braintumourawarenessmonth #headsmart”.
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