'I thought my seizures were just WiFi issues - then came scary diagnosis'

A young woman who initially attributed her freezing episodes during video calls to 'WiFi issues' was stunned to find out that the real culprit was a benign brain tumour. Lauren Freeman, 22, received her diagnosis of an epidermoid tumour in June 2024.

The symptoms started surfacing six months prior while she was pursuing primary education with QTS at the University of Winchester. During regular FaceTime chats with her family and boyfriend, JJ Morris, also 22 and working as a retail fixture technician, she would have moments where she seemed to zone out.

She thought her image and sound glitches on the screen were due to unreliable internet service. However, an MRI scan at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge uncovered the truth: she had a benign brain tumour.

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Lauren, a primary school teacher from Ely, Cambridgeshire, shared: "I've always been a daydreamer, especially when I'm tired - and being in my final year of uni, I thought that's all it was. J, my boyfriend, went to a different uni so I mostly saw him at the weekend and he had started noticing these little moments on FaceTime when I would blame it on Wi-Fi, and then he noticed them face-to-face where I went quiet.

"I brushed it aside, but he was clearly worried. When I went home for , I brought it up with my family.

"I told them what J had noticed, and they said they'd seen something similar too - there was a time I froze on FaceTime, where I blamed it on connection issues afterwards. They were supportive and we booked a doctor's appointment straight away."

Following her diagnosis, Lauren takes daily medication to manage her ongoing symptoms, which include multiple types of seizures, episodes of déjà vu, and prolonged auras - essentially a type of extended .

She said: "Despite my diagnosis, I'm able to live a normal life and I'm thankful to the medical team who have looked after me so well. Brain tumours are more common than people might think.

"I'm proud of myself for still graduating uni with a first and getting to work a full-time job that I absolutely love. It was a scary time, I didn't know what having a brain tumour meant but my family have been very encouraging as have my uni and the school I now work at."

She is working with the charity Brain Tumour Research to promote awareness by participating in 200k In May, Your Way - a challenge where individuals can choose their preferred method to cover the distance. Lauren has already garnered £700 for the charity.

She said: "I want to use my own experience of the disease, to help other people. We must invest in research into brain tumours so that people can have access to the best and most accurate treatments."

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "Lauren's story is a reminder that brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. The number of brain tumour diagnoses has increased by 11% in the last decade, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

"It's with the support of people such as Lauren that will help us closer to finding a cure for all types of brain tumours. Good luck to all taking on the month-long challenge."

To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Lauren's 200k in May, Your Way, visit www.justgiving.com/page/lauren-freeman-2