Family's terrifying wait as brave daughter, 12, undergoes major brain surgery

Catrina Anderson was a happy and healthy 12-year-old until she collapsed suddenly and doctors found a serious bleed on her brain.

Now as she recovers at home, Catrina’s mum has thanked NHS staff who supported them through the terrifying ordeal.

On July 4, Catrina, of Jarrow, complained of a headache but within just 10 minutes she began to vomit before collapsing at her father, John Anderson’s, home.

An ambulance rushed her to Sunderland Royal Hospital where doctors originally believed she may have suffered a seizure.

But a scan revealed she had a ‘significant’ bleed on her brain and she was taken to straight into theatre at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Doctors inserted a drain into her skull to remove the excess fluids on her brain and Catrina spent two days on a ventilator in intensive care.

Scans found Catrina was born with Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) – a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. The initial bleed was caused when a weak vein feeding the AVM ruptured.

Catrina, who attends Jarrow School, also had a brain aneurysm and required major brain surgery.

Her mum, Sara Bainbridge, said: “We didn’t know what to expect. Two doctors had given us estimations that the operation could take anywhere between 45 minutes and three hours. She was in there for six hours.

"When we were sitting waiting, I just kept thinking the worst, that something had gone wrong, that she was bleeding out.

"We get told the worst case scenario just in case and that was what was going through my mind.

"It was just horrible, the wait was horrendous.

"We were allowed in recovery, where she was singing. It was completely unreal, all of that worry just melted away when I saw her.”

A touching video shows Catrina coming around from the anaesthetic singing along to family friend Steven Amos’s rendition of Powfu’s Death Bed (Coffee for your head) which has gone viral on social media platform TikTok.

"Through everything she’s still smiling and happy. She’s been absolutely brilliant,” added Sara, 36, who works as a supervisory assistant at a school.

"Steven had sent a video of them singing a song from TikTok and when she came out of the operation she was singing along. It was just unreal.

"To see her do that after everything she had been through, she’s amazing."

Steven, 40, said: “I was just totally taken aback when I saw the video of her singing along.

"She’s such a brave little girl – my heart was in my mouth when I was watching it.”

After 13 days in hospital, Catrina is recovering at home and will return to hospital in three months to check the AVM has been removed completely – if not she may have to go to Sheffield for specialist treatment.

Sara added: "All of the doctors and nurses were just amazing. They were so supportive. Even though this was such a worry, they made us feel like everything was going to be fine.”

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