Woman, 22, Stumbles During Night Out with Pals and Discovers It's Symptom of a Fatal Illness: 'My Friends Thought I Was Drunk'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jade Collett, now 32, was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor ten years ago after her foot started turning outwards.Photo:Kennedy News and Media

Kennedy News and Media

Jade Collett, then 22, noticed her foot was turning outwards during a night of drinking with pals, but initially dismissed the symptoms a “twinged nerve"When her foot continued to hurt, she sought medical care and was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma — a type of untreatable, terminal brain tumorShe’s now 32 and has been able to watch her daughter grow up, saying doctors are “gobsmacked” that she’s lived this longA woman whose foot turned outwards, causing her to stumble in pain during a night out drinking thought she’d “twinged a nerve” — but it was a brain tumor pressing on the part of her brain that coordinates movement.That stumble may have helped her get treatment in time to watch her daughter grow up over the past decade.Jade Collett was just 22 when “all of a sudden, my foot started to turn outwards a little bit” during a night out drinking with friends, she tells Kennedy News and Media viaThe Daily Mail.Now 32, Collett, whose daughter Grace was one at the time, said she’d hadhip dysplasiaduring her pregnancy; She “thought it was something to do with that, or that I’d twinged a nerve.”Jade Collett’s foot began turning — symptomatic of a fatal brain tumor that she’s now lived with for 10 years.Kennedy News and MediaHer friends agreed: “Everyone thought it was a pinched nerve. It didn’t cross my mind that it could be something sinister.”Collett, who hails from the English county of Worcestershire, said that the pain progressed, and “a few hours in I couldn’t even put my foot on the ground — it was hurting that much. I had to be carried home.”“All my friends thought I was drunk and just laughed it off,” she told the outlet, sharing that she went to the doctor when, the next day, “I still couldn’t put my foot on the ground, and it felt really numb.”She said when doctors told her she had stage 4glioblastoma, she “froze.” As theMayo Clinicexplains, it’s a bleak diagnosis: “There’s no cure forglioblastoma. Treatments might slow cancer growth and reduce symptoms.”A scan of Jade Collett’s brain shows the inoperable tumor.Kennedy News and MediaCollett says she was told her tumor was “inoperable because if they attempted to remove it, I would be disabled. They would give me treatment, but it was just to keep me stable and prolong my life.”“I remember bawling my eyes out, crying, saying, ‘I’m going to die.’ Grace wasn’t even one yet. The only thing I thought about was Grace. I asked how long I had, and the doctor told me two years max,” Collett said.She began planning her funeral and establishing a will. As theGlioblastoma Foundationsays, the average life expectancy peaks at around 15 months.That was ten years ago.Collett underwent chemotherapy and radiation — and while her foot is still bent and impacts her ability to walk, she says she hasn’t needed further treatment to suppress the tumor’s growth.“I’ve always wanted to keep going for Grace. I feel so lucky and just thought I’m going to carry on with my life,” she said. “Doctors have no idea what’s going on and they’ve called me a miracle. They have no answers and are gobsmacked I’m still here and so healthy.”“I’m very glad I suffered this symptom — I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Every day I feel super grateful,” she said. “My foot definitely saved my life.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A woman whose foot turned outwards, causing her to stumble in pain during a night out drinking thought she’d “twinged a nerve” — but it was a brain tumor pressing on the part of her brain that coordinates movement.

That stumble may have helped her get treatment in time to watch her daughter grow up over the past decade.

Jade Collett was just 22 when “all of a sudden, my foot started to turn outwards a little bit” during a night out drinking with friends, she tells Kennedy News and Media viaThe Daily Mail.

Now 32, Collett, whose daughter Grace was one at the time, said she’d hadhip dysplasiaduring her pregnancy; She “thought it was something to do with that, or that I’d twinged a nerve.”

Jade Collett’s foot began turning — symptomatic of a fatal brain tumor that she’s now lived with for 10 years.Kennedy News and Media

Her friends agreed: “Everyone thought it was a pinched nerve. It didn’t cross my mind that it could be something sinister.”

Collett, who hails from the English county of Worcestershire, said that the pain progressed, and “a few hours in I couldn’t even put my foot on the ground — it was hurting that much. I had to be carried home.”

“All my friends thought I was drunk and just laughed it off,” she told the outlet, sharing that she went to the doctor when, the next day, “I still couldn’t put my foot on the ground, and it felt really numb.”

She said when doctors told her she had stage 4glioblastoma, she “froze.” As theMayo Clinicexplains, it’s a bleak diagnosis: “There’s no cure forglioblastoma. Treatments might slow cancer growth and reduce symptoms.”

A scan of Jade Collett’s brain shows the inoperable tumor.Kennedy News and Media

Collett says she was told her tumor was “inoperable because if they attempted to remove it, I would be disabled. They would give me treatment, but it was just to keep me stable and prolong my life.”

“I remember bawling my eyes out, crying, saying, ‘I’m going to die.’ Grace wasn’t even one yet. The only thing I thought about was Grace. I asked how long I had, and the doctor told me two years max,” Collett said.

She began planning her funeral and establishing a will. As theGlioblastoma Foundationsays, the average life expectancy peaks at around 15 months.

That was ten years ago.

Collett underwent chemotherapy and radiation — and while her foot is still bent and impacts her ability to walk, she says she hasn’t needed further treatment to suppress the tumor’s growth.

“I’ve always wanted to keep going for Grace. I feel so lucky and just thought I’m going to carry on with my life,” she said. “Doctors have no idea what’s going on and they’ve called me a miracle. They have no answers and are gobsmacked I’m still here and so healthy.”

“I’m very glad I suffered this symptom — I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Every day I feel super grateful,” she said. “My foot definitely saved my life.”

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source: people.com