A MOTHER OF TWO WROTE LAST LETTERS TO HER CHILDREN AFTER LEARNING THAT her “pregnancy headaches” were much more sinister.

Dominique Nicholson assumed that the aches and pains that come with pregnancy were normal.

But, just weeks after the birth of her second child, the 30-year-old received shocking news.

She had been experiencing headaches throughout and after her pregnancy, leading doctors to believe she had an enlarged blood vessel.

However, a few weeks after giving birth, they discovered she had a brain tumour.

“I was in shock and very scared when the doctor explained it was a mass on the brain,” Dominique said.

“My first thought was of my daughters. I had to witness the maturation of my daughters.”

The mother, from Bagworth, near Coalville, said she wasn’t concerned at first because she thought it was normal during pregnancy.

“I had headaches when I was pregnant with my first daughter, Freya,” she explained.

“So when I had headaches with Erin, I didn’t worry because I assumed it was a combination of the stress of having a young child, working, being pregnant, and being tired in general.”

“I mentioned my headaches to my midwife about five times, but she agreed there was no cause for concern, and I assumed they would go away once I gave birth.”

Dominique began to feel sick and had pain behind her eyes as the headaches persisted and worsened.

Doctors then informed her that she had a grade II meningioma, a brain mass that would require surgery.

“I spent a lot of time in the hospital sobbing,” she explained.

“I needed to put things in place, so I wrote letters, arranged godparents, and considered how I could help David if something went wrong during surgery.”

Fortunately, the craniotomy was successful, removing between 97 and 99 percent of the tumour.

It has left a large scar from the middle of her forehead to her ear, but her mother says she is just relieved to be alive.

“I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been treated so quickly, and I don’t like to think about what might have happened if I hadn’t.”

“I want to warn everyone – but especially mothers and expectant mothers – not to put their own health last,” she added.

“You know your own body and what is normal, so if something isn’t right, ask questions.”

“My headaches were getting worse, I was feeling sick, and I was forgetting things.”