A MUM-of-two has thanked hospital staff for amazing care after finding a cyst in her brain during the winter crisis at Colchester General Hospital.

Rachel Pardue went to the accident and emergency department on January 3 during its busiest time of the year.

The 27-year-old was suffering a severe headache, dizziness, blurred vision.

Rachel had been diagnosed with a cyst in her brain five years ago after having a fit.

She had to have it drained of built-up spinal fluid last summer and feared something sinister.

Rachel, of Turner Road, Lawford, said: “I spend a lot of time at Colchester General Hospital. I have a cyst on the left frontal lobe of my brain, also have rheumatoid arthritis and epilepsy.

“It was so busy compared to what it normally is, I really felt for them and they took the time for me.

“The new system at A&E was really good, I got seen by a nurse as soon as we arrived and sent to majors.

“I had a doctor called Adam Ali, he was amazing - he did a CT scan. The nurse was Andrew Sele really put me at ease.

“They kept me updated every hour even if they hadn’t heard from the specialists at Queen’s Hospital in London.

“I was amazed at how well they coped, they had so many people go in and out.

Rachel had to stay in the waiting area as there were a lack of beds due to high demand.

She was called into a bay by the doctor and told they had found a second cyst, this time on the right side of her brain.

She said: “I cried and he was amazing, he said he needed to talk to Queen’s and we had to wait a bit longer.

“In the end they got me a bed in a corner because I couldn’t stand the light, and they swapped the trolley for a bed so I was more comfortable.

“So many people have bad things to say about the hospital but they were amazing. They were in bed crisis but still made me feel cared for.

“The cyst is small as they have caught it early. They have put me on some drugs to tackle the symptoms and I will be seeing my neurologist in a couple of weeks.”

Nothing can be done to remove the cysts from Rachel’s brain but they can be drained.

In June last year, when her daughter Leah was just threemonths old, Rachel went to A&E and was sent by ambulance to Queen’s Hospital to have her cyst drained as built-up spinal fluid was pressing on her brain.

Rachel, who also has a three-year-old son Dylan, said: “I had to have both of my children by c-section - I couldn’t push because of the cyst.“It wasn’t until she was about a month old I started getting the headaches and I knew something wasn’t right.

“I could have had a fit because the pressure was so bad.”

Rachel says continued support from her friends and family, as well as great hospital care has been invaluable in coping with her conditions.