Father-of-two blamed annoying headaches on carrying his toddler around on his shoulders - then was diagnosed with a brain tumour

Published: 15:06 EST, 15 November 2026 | Updated: 15:06 EST, 15 November 2026 A father who blamed persistent headaches on carrying his toddler on his shoulders was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour after the pain became so severe he could not get out of bed.Steven Dalton, who lives with his wife Aoife and their two children on the family farm in Kiltealy, Co Wexford, first noticed the headaches during a family holiday in July.The couple initially put the symptoms down to carrying their three-year-old son Luke, who had become reluctant to walk and wanted to be carried everywhere during a trip to Center Parcs.But after the headaches worsened over the following weeks, a hospital scan revealed a mass on Steven's brain. He later underwent surgery in which doctors removed more than 90 per cent of the tumour.The family then endured an agonising week-long wait before learning the tumour was highly aggressive.A GoFundMe appeal has been launched to help Steven access further treatment and give him the best possible chance of fighting the disease.Recalling the first signs that something was wrong, Aoife said: 'Our three-year-old, Luke, had decided around that time that he didn't like walking and wanted to be carried everywhere.'I carried him on my hip, and Steven carried him on his shoulders a few times. It was then that Steven first noticed headaches, but we put them down to carrying Luke, as his neck was sore too.' Steven Dalton, who lives with his wife Aoife and their children on their family farm in Kiltealy, Co. Wexford, first noticed the headaches during a family holiday in JulyAfter their stay at Center Parcs, the family travelled to Sligo for a camping trip with friends.Steven had recently bought a small campervan after spending around a decade searching for the right one, but the getaway was overshadowed by his worsening symptoms.'He wasn't himself; his head and neck were very sore,' Aoife said.Drawing on her background in physical therapy, she treated her husband's neck twice. After the second session, he experienced about a week of relief before the headaches returned.'One morning, the pain was so bad he couldn't get out of bed. We rang the doctor, who advised us to go straight to A&E,' she said.A scan revealed a mass on Steven's brain and he was transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin for a craniotomy, in which part of the skull is temporarily removed so surgeons can access the brain.Aoife described the wait during the operation as 'an incredibly difficult time'.'With such a risky surgery, you never know what the outcome will be,' she said.'Thankfully, his surgeons were exceptional and successfully removed over 90 per cent of the tumour with minimal damage to the surrounding brain tissue.'But the family's relief was short-lived.'Unfortunately, we received the news that Steven's tumour is highly aggressive, and that we would need to look beyond the standard treatment available here to give Steven the best possible chance,' Aoife said.She said the family were shocked to learn treatment for Steven's condition had changed little in more than 20 years.Aoife added that brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among children and adults under 40, yet historically have received only a small proportion of national cancer research funding.She also highlighted the difficulties many patients face accessing clinical trials, saying the rapid progression of aggressive brain tumours can leave sufferers too unwell to meet strict eligibility criteria before they are able to enrol.