Man who couldn’t walk after brain tumor surgery chasing pickleball dream

By Ben Barry

An athlete who was diagnosed with a brain tumor after a seizure in his sleep had to relearn how to walk again - and is training to become the world's best pickleball player.

Nicholas Wade, 27, was asleep when he had a seizure in the middle of the night.

Luckily, his wife, Beah Wade, 26, is a nurse and called an ambulance straight away.

Nicholas woke up in the hospital and said he had to pinch himself to check it wasn’t a dream.

Doctors sent him for an MRI scan to see what had caused the seizure.

The results came back showing a mass on the brain, and Nicholas was sent for an operation to remove it.

A biopsy revealed that Nicholas had a benign glioneuronal tumor - a group of rare brain tumors that contain a mixture of both nerve cells and glial cells, which doctors said had been there since birth.

After the operation, Nicholas had to relearn how to walk and is currently battling to become the world’s number one pickleball player.

Nicholas, a pickleball player and coach from Upminster, Essex, now living in Boise, Idaho, said: “I didn’t have any symptoms at all before the seizure.

“I felt the fittest I have ever felt in my whole life.

“I was training for a tournament that week. I had zero symptoms. I went to sleep one night and had a seizure in my sleep.

“Luckily, my wife is a nurse. She realized it was a seizure and called the ambulance to take me straight to hospital.”

Nicholas said he was the fittest he had ever been the week he had a seizure and was training for a pickleball tournament.

After having a seizure in the middle of the night, Nicholas was blue-lighted to the hospital after his wife called 911.

He said, “First of all, I didn’t think it was real. I had to check myself to make sure it was real and I wasn’t dreaming.

“It then started hitting me that if I had a seizure in my sleep, something was seriously wrong.

“I was really scared in that moment - that was the first time I had been in hospital for anything.”

Nicholas was then sent for an MRI scan to determine what had caused the seizure.

The results came back showing Nicholas had a mass on his brain, which they believed to be a brain tumor.

Nicholas said, “When they told me I had a brain tumor, I was so scared and frightened for what was to come.

“I was definitely in the victim mindset of thinking, why me? I didn’t think I deserved this.

“As time went on, my mindset changed. I was glad that this happened to me rather than someone else I knew.”

A day later, Nicholas had a four-hour operation to remove the tumor, which was successful.

A biopsy later revealed that Nicholas had a benign glioneuronal tumor that had likely been there since birth.

Nicholas said, “One of the hardest parts was after the operation when I waited for the biopsy results.

“It must have taken six months for them to confirm what type of tumor I had.

“Luckily, my operation was successful, and doctors were able to remove the entire tumor.

“I don’t require any further treatment, which was a relief.”

Due to the location of the tumor on his right frontal lobe, Nicholas spent one month relearning how to walk, shower, and feed himself again.

He said his mental health suffered as a result, but he is now back on the court, aiming to become the world’s best pickleball player.

Nicholas said, “The biggest thing for me was my mental health.

“The tumor shifted who I was as a person. I knew who I was before the surgery, but after it I lost myself.

“I was unable to shower myself, feed myself, or stand up for a while after the surgery.

“I would start by standing on my feet for a second, then a few seconds, gradually until I could stand for a minute.

“There’s a huge stigma with brain tumors that you won’t be able to achieve great things after surgery.

“I’m here to change that stigma, to be a beacon of hope and an inspiration, showing that after a brain tumor, I can still achieve anything I want and chase my dreams.”

Piers Townley, Celebrity Manager at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: "We're delighted to have Nicholas' support as one of our High Profile Influencers, a vital awareness role for the work we do.