![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/i-woke-up-from-brain-surgery-craving-mcdonalds-chicken-mcnuggets/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TELEMMGLPICT000315034105_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqal8bg-RU3rYcAZxiSrLckZFnTqTHfNBpZ7l3SSgx_28.jpeg&description=In Jan 2020, Ms Gray began experiencing bizarre symptoms. Her head ached and her legs started to ignore her instructions. Only a week later, she was in London King's College Hospital having life-altering brain surgery to remove a tumour. The hemangioblastoma is not very rare on its own, but Ms Gray's sat in the fourth ventricle of her brain - making her one of less than 10 people across the globe with the condition. As a result of the strange location, removing the growth was highly challenging, taking 50 people and over 12 hours to complete the operation. The most affected area of Ms Gray's brain controls speech and balance. This meant three months of recovery in King's was followed by six more months in rehabilitation. 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. 'If I'm heavier, it's going to be harder' The former exercise physiologist said she is trying to maintain control over her new junk food consumption, fearing it will hinder her goal to walk with a stick. She has applied her dance skills to learning to walk again too. She said: "If I'm heavier, it's going to be harder - because if I get fatter, there's more of me to move. So I'm very mindful of how much I eat, because I'm not burning it up. "Before, I was on my feet all day, I was very active. It's hard because balance is not the same thing as strength. "Balance is like a baby, they walk with really wide legs and they fall over. Well that's what I was like, walking really wide. "I'm always thinking while I'm walking, bend your knees, heel to toe, don't lean forward. So it's very, very hard but it's like dancing to me." Because the disease is so rare, her condition is uncertain. However, Ms Gray is determined to dance again and in the meantime she appreciates the positives of her new-found love of sweet treats.){kind=link}
Healthy eater Belle Gray’s taste buds turned after life-altering surgery
A health-conscious woman who had no appetite for chocolate, cake or junk food woke up from brain surgery craving McDonald’s.
Belle Gray had life-altering brain surgery to remove an extremely rare tumour suffered by less than one in 10 people globally.
Before the operation Ms Gray, who had previously worked in the NHS as an educator to prevent people from developing Type 2 diabetes, had eaten healthily. But afterwards, the 60-year-old’s sense of taste entirely changed.
She discovered she had gone off the healthy snacks she used to love, with fruit and salad no longer appealing to her palate as it tasted like salt.