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A Scotland dietitian reported experiencing dizzy spells months after giving birth, which she initially blamed on “baby brain” — until she fell while holding her infant daughter, Sienna.
Anneka Johnstone, 33, was rushed to the hospital in June 2019, her husband said, and they were told she had the herpes simplex virus. She was given antibiotics and sent home.
But a week later, an MRI and a biopsy of Anneka’s brain reportedly showed she actually suffered from glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor.
“After being told the news, we drove back to tell the family. The first person Anneka saw when she walked through the door was Sienna — she collapsed,” Alan Johnstone, a 38-year-old medical technician from Dumfries, told SWNS.
Alan said he and Anneka were “childhood sweethearts.” The couple met when she was 17, and he was 18. They wed in 2015 and welcomed Sienna, now 4, in October 2018.
“All she wanted was to be a mom, be there for Sienna’s 18th, and watch her get married,” Alan said.
But Anneka would spend her final months receiving round-the-clock care in a palliative care unit. She died less than six months after her diagnosis, on Nov. 18, 2019, Alan said.
“You could spend 24 hours with her, but only get 30 seconds of the real Anneka,” he recalled of that devastating time.
“It was sickening knowing the person she was — and that there was nothing I could do. I could see the fear in her eyes, she was terrified, like anyone would be at 33 years old.”
Admitting it’s been tough to go from being a close-knit family to being a single dad, Alan credits his young daughter for helping him through.
“Sienna gave me a totally different focus. She is my No. 1. I give her as much love as I can give her — she is the reason I get up in the morning,” he said.
On April 23, Sienna will cheer her dad on as he runs the London Marathon to honor Anneka and to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity. Alan has already collected over $67,700 for the organization after walking 215 miles across Scotland in a week, per SWNS.
“I am doing this for the next person who is diagnosed,” Alan explained to the outlet. “What would help is a change in government funding and a change in how they invest in the brain tumor charities. Not enough money is being invested into it.”
“Hopefully I will get to the end without many tears, raise as much money as possible and share Anneka’s story,” he added. “I will never forget the stamp she put on the world and hope there is loads of Annie in Sienna as she grows.”
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