A woman who had brain surgery just last year will be taking on the Brecon Carreg Porthcawl 10K to show herself just what she’s capable of.
Julie Summers, 59, first started feeling unwell in 2019. She later found out she had a condition called trigeminal neuralgia – a chronic pain disorder that causes severe facial pain in sudden attacks. It turned her life upside down.
The quality inspector from Penygraig said: “It started off quite mildly at first with my jaw not fitting together but then it started to get more painful. I went to the dentist and then the pandemic hit and my symptoms escalated. It felt like lightening was striking my face, travelling down my eye socket, nose, lips and chin. This was happening multiple times a day.”
Her husband Matt said he watched as the condition robbed his wife of 70% of her personality.
Julie, who has two children, two stepchildren and 11 grandchildren, said: “Matt would watch me in tears as I’d try to put food in my mouth. I couldn’t eat as chewing was just too painful. I was having soup for months and would often just sit in silence as even talking was painful.
“I couldn’t go about my day-to-day life because I was in so much pain. It was so debilitating.”
Julie was referred to a neurosurgeon and an MRI scan found that some of the blood vessels in her brain were pulsating against one of her nerves, which was causing the pain. She was given epilepsy medication to interrupt the signals which were going to the nerve but it was becoming more sensitive and the only way forward was to have surgery.
She had this in June 2024 and said the pain disappeared overnight.
Julie said: “The medication supressed the pain but it would come back, so I opted to have the surgery.
“The surgeon needed to take a piece of skull out and push my brain out of the way to find the blood vessels that were touching the nerve. They found that it was sandwiched between two vessels and put a patch in to act as a barrier.
“When I came round I instantly noticed that the pain had gone. I can now do so many small things that you usually take for granted like being able to eat an apple.
“At the time you don’t realise how much a condition like this has changed you, but I finally feel like myself again.”
As Julie started to feel better, in October 2024 she decided she’d also take up running.
She said: “At 59 I’d never run a day in my life but this freedom from constant pain motivated me to have a go.
“I’m really enjoying it and I’m now running parkruns and have joined a running club. I wanted to enter the Porthcawl 10K to push myself a bit more and see what I can achieve before I turn 60.”
The Brecon Carreg Porthcawl 10K takes place on Sunday 6 July and is set to be its biggest yet.
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, added: “We’re so pleased that Julie is now feeling better and has found a new passion in running. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming her and the thousands of other runners taking on the 10K challenge this year.”
