Roxy Thomas shows early respiratory gains after brain tumour surgery
Teenage footballer Roxy Thomas is showing early signs of improvement after treatment for a brain tumour, with her family saying she has been able to breathe on her own for short periods for the first time since surgery. The 18-year-old, who plays for Torquay United Women, remains in intensive care at Bristol Royal Infirmary after two operations, but her family described the recent spells of independent breathing as a positive step forward.
In neuro-oncology, even brief recovery in spontaneous respiration can mark a meaningful shift after major intracranial surgery. Brain tumours and the procedures used to treat them can affect the neural pathways that control breathing, especially when swelling, postoperative recovery, or the location of the lesion places pressure on critical brain structures. Short stretches of independent breathing do not end the risk, but they often signal that the brain is beginning to tolerate a lighter dependence on support.
Her radiotherapy began at the end of October and, by the family’s account, has gone well so far. She is expected to remain in hospital for the next six weeks while she continues treatment. For patients with brain tumours, radiotherapy is frequently used to target residual tumour cells after surgery or to slow further growth when complete surgical removal is not possible. The treatment is precise, but it is also demanding; the brain’s sensitivity to radiation means clinicians must balance tumour control against fatigue, swelling, and neurological side effects.
Intensive care, two operations, and a slow recovery curve
Thomas was diagnosed in August, and the sequence since then has been severe: diagnosis, two operations, and an intensive care stay. That kind of trajectory is familiar in aggressive or anatomically difficult brain tumours, where surgery can relieve pressure and remove as much disease as possible, yet leave the patient needing prolonged critical care support. In a young person, the stakes are particularly high because the aim is not only survival, but preservation of neurological function, mobility, speech, and independence.
Her family did not describe the tumour subtype or the surgical details, so the clinical picture remains incomplete. Even so, the available facts point to a patient still in the early phase of recovery, with treatment now moving from the operating theatre to the longer and often slower business of oncologic control and rehabilitation. In that setting, progress is rarely linear. A few hours of improved breathing can coexist with profound weakness, dependence on hospital care, and a long list of unresolved questions about neurological recovery.
The family’s statement carries the kind of detail that matters at the bedside. Brief, self-directed breathing suggests that the immediate postoperative burden may be easing, even if only slightly. For clinicians, that can indicate a brain that is better able to coordinate basic autonomic functions after the strain of surgery and critical illness. For families, it is often the first concrete sign that the patient is moving, however cautiously, away from the most fragile phase.
Radiotherapy begins as support builds around the family
The fundraising effort for Thomas and her family has raised just shy of £28,000. The money is intended to help with travel costs, accommodation during hospital stays, loss of income during treatment, and additional medical expenses not covered by the NHS. In serious neurological illness, the financial strain often arrives alongside the physical one, especially when treatment is far from home and requires long inpatient stays.
Plymouth Argyle and Marine Academy Plymouth donated gate receipts from recent matches against Torquay to the fundraiser. That response reflects the way local football communities often rally around young players whose lives have been abruptly altered by illness. Thomas had come through the ranks at Argyle before signing for Torquay United in 2025, where she played a major role in a treble-winning season and was named Young Player of the Season.
Her footballing record matters here because it shows how quickly a high-functioning young athlete can be pulled into a very different clinical reality. Someone who recently contributed to a championship season can, within months, be reliant on intensive care, surgery, and radiotherapy. The contrast is stark, and it often reminds clinicians and families alike how unforgiving intracranial disease can be, even in the young and otherwise active.
What this update means for ongoing care
The immediate medical significance lies in the combination of two facts: radiotherapy has started, and spontaneous breathing has reappeared in short bursts. Together, they suggest treatment is continuing while her body gradually regains some capacity for independent function. Neither development tells the full story of prognosis, and no tumor biology, imaging detail, or long-term neurological outcome has been disclosed.
A prolonged hospital stay over the next six weeks also indicates that the road ahead remains substantial. Brain tumour treatment rarely ends with surgery alone. Ongoing monitoring, supportive care, and repeated assessment are central because complications can emerge late, neurological deficits can change over time, and radiation effects may build gradually rather than immediately.
Torquay United said everyone at the club continues to keep Roxy and her family in their thoughts during what remains an incredibly difficult time, and the club thanked the Thomas family for sharing the update. The public details available now are limited, but they point to a patient in early recovery, a family living through prolonged uncertainty, and a treatment course that is still very much active. The next clinically meaningful milestones will be whether her respiratory independence extends beyond short spells and how she tolerates the remaining weeks of radiotherapy.