Brain tumour survivor Lisa King makes stunning recovery

Lisa King, from Haddington, was so ill at the end of last year that doctors feared she wouldn’t make it into the operating theatre for a last-ditch bid to save her life.

Then, after undergoing surgery at the hands of one of the finest experts in the medical profession, she was left bedridden in an intensive care unit.

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But the 37-year-old, who lives in Florida, has defied the odds by getting back on her feet and being able to walk up and down stairs.

The News told previously how Lisa’s tumour had been branded inoperable – until world-leading surgeon Dr Allan Friedman said he believed he could remove it.

She went under the knife on Christmas Eve, when Dr Friedman managed to cut out a “significant part” of the tumour.

Her husband, Jon King, 53, said he had been left astonished by Lisa’s progress and fighting spirit.

He said: “It’s been wonderful to see and an enormous relief.

“In just over two weeks she has progressed from being bedridden and speaking only about six words to walking up and down the stairs on her own speaking in full sentences, even doing some housework, including vacuuming.

“The physical therapist is amazed with her progress and so am I.

“Another couple of months, maybe sooner, should see her back to her old self. We will be able to put this whole thing behind us. Of course, it will never go away completely – there will be follow-ups and six-monthly checks, but her prognosis is really great.

“She really is quite amazing and incredibly precious to me.”

Jon also thanked friends for their kind words, thoughts, prayers, contributions to medical costs and “massive support” and revealed that the couple were even able to go out for a Valentine’s Day meal.

Born Lisa Elliot, she moved from East Lothian to the US to join Jon two years ago after they met when he was a commercial airline pilot and she was an air hostess.

Soon their idyllic life in the Sunshine State was capped off with the best news possible – their first child was on the way after two years of trying.

Tragically, Lisa lost their baby after just 11 weeks, but that was only the beginning of their nightmare.

Lisa soon faced a string of painful infections before being diagnosed in September with an aggressive brain tumour.

Doctors had warned Jon to expect the worst but, unwilling to give up on his wife, he sought a second opinion.

Lisa was transferred more than 600 miles from the Holmes Regional Hospital near their home to the Duke University Hospital in North Carolina.

There, they consulted Dr Friedman, who operated on former Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy in 2008, a year before his death.

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