Car accident reveals father Darryl Megaw’s tumour misdiagnosis

A father of a one-and-a-half-year-old couldn’t remember crashing his car. The next day he handed himself over to police and also had a brain scan. The results were heartbreaking.

When father Darryl Megaw underwent brain surgery to remove a brain tumour, his wife who was 31-weeks pregnant was forced to undergo emergency surgery on her gallbladder — leaving one-and-a-half-year-old Ellie with both parents in surgery.

Darryl spent almost a decade believing he suffered from epilepsy after being diagnosed in 2016.

He experienced his first seizure, which lasted 30 seconds, while asleep.

Since then, he’d been on epilepsy medication, suffering sporadically with significant seizures, until a car crash in March this year, which he says he doesn’t remember, prompted a scan.

“I crashed and I had no idea about it,” the 37-year-old warehouse manager said.

“When I got home I called SAPOL myself because I realised something was wrong because the right side of the car was damaged but I had no idea why.”

Darryl Megaw, 37, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour, with his wife Rhylee Megaw and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Ellie. Picture: Supplied

The day after the crash, which led to him pleading guilty to driving in a reckless or dangerous manner, he had a brain scan.

“We did medical testing and it was revealed the tumour had been there since 2016 and it had grown in size,” Rhylee said.

Darryl, who lives in Fitzroy, said the news was “definitely upsetting”.

Darryl Megaw after his brain surgery. Picture: Supplied

Darryl with his wife Rhylee following their surgeries. Picture: Supplied

The tumour, which is the size of a 20 cent piece, was wrapped around the frontal lobe which controls thinking, emotions and personality.

After the scan, Darryl continued to have seizure-like episodes two to three times a day.

“I can’t be by myself,” he said.

He couldn’t pick up his daughter Ellie, be left alone at work or do simple tasks, in fear of having an episode.

Darryl with his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Ellie. Picture: Supplied

When Darryl was in surgery with doctors removing his brain tumour, his wife Rhylee was in surgery with doctors removing her gallbladder. Picture: Supplied

By November, a surgery date was confirmed.

However, by the time Darryl was due for surgery, Rhylee, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child, started to feel unbearable pain.

When her husband was due to undergo brain surgery, she was forced to go under the knife also, but for her it was to remove her gallbladder in an emergency operation.

“They found I was almost septic … I had a gallbladder full of stones … causing a lot of pain,” the 32-year-old said.

Leaving their daughter Ellie with family was “hard”.

“She struggled a lot with not seeing us at night,” she said.

The pair are continuing to recover from their surgeries, while Rhylee also continues to prepare for the birth of their child.

Darryl is also waiting on results on whether the tumour is cancerous.

“We just want to be a family and be normal again,” Rhylee said.

If you’d like to donate to the Megaws you can here.