Teen’s ‘growing pains’ turn out to be tumor on spine

By Hannah Van De Peer via SWNS

A teenager who thought she was experiencing growing pains found out she had a grape-sized tumor on her spine - risking paralysis and deadly blood clots.

Darcie Bunyan, 18, started feeling shooting pains "radiating" up her legs in early 2023.

She was sent for an MRI after her GP thought she had a slipped disc - but was rushed to A&E after doctors spotted a 3.1cm non-cancerous mass on her spine.

Surgeons spent nine hours removing it - but Darcie has managed to make a full recovery across 13 months and will be running a 10k marathon in June 2025.

Darcie, a nursing student at the University of Lincoln, from Hull, East Yorkshire, said: “My pains started off just like growing pains - but it took a turn and then I’d be up all night crying.

“It was a horrible time.

“It’s been seven months now - most days, I could run 10k, but occasionally I struggle to walk to the shops.

“I’ve made it my mission to get back into fitness, which is why I’m doing the 10k race.”

Six months before diagnosis, Darcie started feeling “really bad” growing pains going down both legs.

Just 17 at the time, she assumed these would be her “last set of growing pains” before turning 18.

Despite wanting to call the GP, Darcie was unable to make any appointments until the end of May - due to family holidays.

“Everyone thought it might be a slipped disc or muscular problem,” she said.

“Or we thought it might be something similar to sciatica.”

Her GP suspected a slipped disc and referred Darcie for three months’ worth of physiotherapy.

Darcie would attend sessions once a week for three months and was often given exercises to do at home.

She’d have to lie on her stomach, stretching her legs to her head - but two weeks before the end of the sessions, her pain took a turn for the worst.

“The physio didn’t work,” she said.

“I still had the pain - and it really took a twist.

“It kept me up all night.”

The GP referred Darcie for an MRI at Hull Royal Infirmary - and the student went for her scan two weeks later, on September 29.

Doctors told Darcie she’d need to go to the A&E department straight away - after finding a 3.1cm mass on her spine.

“The only thing they told me was that I had spinal stenosis,” she said.

“I had no clue what that was - I thought it might’ve been a slipped disc.

“I definitely didn’t think it would be a tumor.”

Darcie waited in A&E for 10 hours - from 11am to 9pm.

A consultant handed Darcie a piece of paper, detailing her diagnosis and told her there was an ambulance coming to take her to a bigger hospital.

The piece of paper explained that Darcie had a tumor on her spine - and she says her mum, Sarah Thornton, 45, went “as white as a sheet.”

She added: “I was so scared.

“It looked so serious - I thought they were trying to tell me I had a blood clot.”

Doctors gave Darcie the opportunity to remain at Hull Royal Infirmary - and she chose to stay as she felt she’d bonded with the surgeons.

The following week, she had the nine-hour procedure to remove her tumor and afterwards, was left in “the worst pain I’ve ever felt.”

“It sounds really dramatic - but I felt like I was dying,” she said.

“I had a drain in my back, and my brain and spinal fluid was draining out.

“I just felt really, really poorly.”

Darcie had to take four months off sixth form - and take her mock exams late.

But she slowly made a full recovery, while taking medication for her pain.

Now she’s able to run, she’s chosen to raise money for the Brain and Spine Foundation - by running the Grimsby 10k marathon in June 2025.

She doesn’t have a fixed target - but has already raised $1,092.

“I was researching lots of different charities - but the Brain and Spine Foundation is absolutely lovely,” Darcie said.

“Their goal is to put money into the research behind brain and spinal tumors - as well as help with palliative care.”

Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager of JustGiving, said: "Darcie's story not only demonstrates her incredible resilience and determination, it also illustrates the huge importance of charities such as The Brain and Spine Foundation.

"We wish Darcie all the best in her fundraising journey."