After having brain surgery, a health-conscious woman who didn’t like chocolate, cake, or junk food came up desiring McDonald’s. Healthy eater Belle Gray’s taste buds changed completely after life-altering surgery.
Less than one in ten people worldwide have this exceedingly rare tumor, which Belle Gray underwent life-changing brain surgery to remove.
Ms. Gray, who had previously worked for the NHS as an educator to help patients avoid acquiring Type 2 diabetes, had eaten well before the procedure. The 60-year-old’s perception of tastes, however, completely changed after that.
She found that she had stopped enjoying the nutritious snacks she used to enjoy since fruit and salad were too salty.
Ms. Gray, a former professional dancer, said: “Something I found that was really unusual was that the first thing that I wanted when I got home was a McDonald’s even though I had never eaten a Chicken McNugget or a McDonald’s before. What’s going on there?
‘I had it and it was lovely, absolutely lovely’
All I can say is that I had a television in my room, and I believe that advertising may have been the cause.
“My preferences have altered, but aside from that, I’m the same.
I used to consume a lot of salad and fruit. They no longer taste the same; instead, they now taste salty.
Jan. 2020 marked the start of Ms. Gray’s strange symptoms. Her legs began to disobey her commands as her head hurt.
A week later, she had a life-changing brain surgery at London’s King’s College Hospital to remove a tumor.
Although hemangioblastoma is not uncommon on its own, Ms. Gray is one of less than 10 people worldwide who have the illness since it is located in the brain’s fourth ventricle.
The odd placement made it extremely difficult to remove the growth, which required 50 personnel and more than 12 hours to do.
The part of Ms. Gray’s brain that regulates speech and balance is the most impaired.
This meant that after three months of recovery in King’s, six more months of therapy were required.
There, she challenged herself to walk again and can now successfully move around with a Zimmer frame.
But she wants to keep improving and is cautious of her new sweet tooth hampering her efforts.
