Danielle Andersen, 17, was left paralysed down her left side after a December 2025 craniotomy to remove a benign dermoid cyst, with doctors later finding she had suffered a stroke during the operation.
Three blood vessels were cut in surgery, according to an MRI scan four days later, after the family had initially been told her post-operative weakness would resolve within days.
The tumour was discovered after five days of severe headaches in July 2025, which Andersen had mistaken for dehydration during a heatwave before a consultant spotted unusual eye tracking in A&E.
Six months on, the London student has regained movement through intensive physiotherapy and family-led exercises, and has resumed running, jumping and some dancing after dropping out of her first college year.
King’s College Hospital said skull-base neurosurgery is highly complex and that risks were explained during consent, while the family is raising money for private rehabilitation beyond standard NHS stroke recovery support.