19-year-old ‘beautiful’ student died after months of being told she had vitamin D deficiency

When Ellie Watts started feeling dizzy while wearing her mother’s wedding dress, they chalked it up to dehydration.

But after several weeks of her light-headedness, Catherine O’Connor took her daughter to see her GP.

Ellie underwent blood tests which came back normal and her symptoms were considered not to be a cause for concern.

Turns out they couldn’t have been more wrong. Those were warning signs of a brain tumor.

Ellie was then diagnosed with grade 1 pilocytic astrocytoma and was found to have hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid collects in the brain.

She underwent surgery and most of the tumor was removed, but Ellie remained in stable condition for 14 months.

However, in October 2023, she showed further signs of hydrocephalus, went into cardiac arrest, and died at the age of 19.

Her mother, Catherine, wants to share her daughter’s story to prevent other families from going through the same pain.

“Ellie was a very special person. She was so much fun and just a really great person to be around.

“All the tributes we received after her death spoke of how beautiful she was inside and out, and her smile and positivity.

“We hope that by sharing Ellie’s story and raising money for brain tumor research, other lives will be saved.”

Catherine, from Dartford, Kent, first noticed her daughter’s symptoms in late August 2021 while trying on her final dress for her wedding next month.

“She said she was almost shaken and felt a little light-headed and dizzy,” she said.

“She was so small, 5ft 3in tall and weighing only 8 and a half stone, that I thought she probably needed water.

“When she still felt dizzy in October, I told her to go to the doctor and get tested.”

Ellie had a blood test, which came back normal, and she was asked to come back to have her B12 levels tested, which was also fine.

She made another appointment in January to discuss other possible problems, but was told she “probably has a vitamin D deficiency.”

Doctors also advised him to take antihistamines to reduce dizziness and to drink more water.

This seemed to work, but in April Ellie started feeling sick “out of nowhere” and started vomiting, Katherine said.

My headaches also returned and my upper lip often sweated.

I burst into tears.It was Ellie who had a brain tumor so Ellie had to support me because I was having a hard time breathing and felt so sick.

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“By that time she was starting to go out socially, so we thought it meant she needed something to eat or drink,” she added.

Ellie, 18, had to take several days off from her part-time job at John Lewis in Bluewater before undergoing further medical tests.

She was admitted to Darent Valley Hospital in August 2022 after an MRI scan at a private clinic in Hornchurch, Essex revealed “abnormalities”.

Catherine said: “She was strapped into a machine, a cannula was put on her and her blood was drawn.

“The next thing we knew, Ellie was told she had a brain tumor.

“When she said don’t worry, everything will be okay, I burst into tears.

“Ellie had to support me when she had a brain tumor because I was struggling to breathe and felt so unwell.”

Katherine’s husband, Chris, was rushed to the ward and the family, pale, headed to King’s College Hospital in London, where it was discovered that Ellie also had hydrocephalus.

A neurosurgeon explained that Ellie had a tumor in her cerebellum that was pressing on her brainstem and causing fluid to build up.

“Sweat dripping down”

The surgery took seven hours, and miraculously Ellie was able to walk on her own just two days later.

Within two months, she was back to work and earned a degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Greenwich.

At his final checkup in July 2023, the family breathed a sigh of relief when doctors confirmed the tumor was stable.

But a few weeks later, Ellie began experiencing headaches and vomiting again.

Duchess Kate took her straight to A&E, where she was “dripping with sweat and started to feel unwell”.

“She was called into a room with just a chair and a desk and I had to support her,” Katherine said.

“Ellie’s hair was so wet that when I sat her down I thought she was going to pass out.

“I told the doctor what was going on and said, ‘This is really serious, we have to help her now.’

“‘Oh my god,’ she said, looking genuinely panicked before leaving and coming back in her wheelchair.

“She literally opened all the doors for me and ran Ellie to the CT scanner.

“A few hours later, the doctor yelled, ‘You have hydrocephalus, get me to the emergency room.’

“We were told we would have to wait another three hours for Ellie to get an MRI, but we knew it wouldn’t take her that long so we asked them to transfer her to King Hospital.”

The damage was said to be catastrophic.

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Eventually, an ambulance arrived at 5:45am.

Catherine said: “We were just about to leave when Ellie started making strange noises so the driver rushed to get the registrar.”

“Ellie was removed from the ambulance to stabilize her condition and as soon as she was resuscitated, CPR began.

“It took eight minutes to get her back, and then she never woke up again.”

Ellie was taken to King Hospital for surgery, but her brain “didn’t respond as well as they would have liked.”

Tests the next morning revealed that his brain stem had been pushed into his spine.

“We were told the damage was catastrophic and the only thing keeping her alive was life support,” her mother said.

“She was on the donor list and lived until the next day.

“My wonderful daughter donated a total of five organs.”

More than 150 people attended Ellie’s funeral, which raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Catherine, who ran the Norfolk Marathon on April 28, said: “Ellie’s death is a great loss, but she will be remembered not only by those who donated her organs, but by everyone who knew and loved her. I will continue,” he said.

Brain tumor researcher Hugh Adam said: “Ellie’s story is a stark reminder of the indiscriminate nature of brain tumors, which can affect anyone at any time.

“We are determined to change this, but only by working together can we improve treatment options for patients and ultimately find a cure.

“Brain tumors kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer, yet since records began in 2002, just 1 percent of national spending on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. ”