October 15, 2008 was a special day for fashion designer Lara Spiteri. It was the day she underwent an operation that relieved her of a brain tumour she had been suffering for seven years and her son Aidan was born.

Then 29, Ms Spiteri did not know she had a tumour until her condition was exacerbated when she was pregnant and was taken to hospital.

She had been suffering from memory loss and trembling for about seven years and doctors were unable to determine what she was suffering from.

"I went to various doctors and they all thought I was depressed and prescribed antidepressants. At home, I have six boxes of antidepressants, which I never touched."

Her condition worsened during her pregnancy, to the point she could not even remember where she had left her clothes and could not draw because of her trembling hands.

Seven months into her pregnancy, her friend, Chantelle, took her to hospital where she spent 20 days under observation and still nothing was found.

Her friend would not let her leave without knowing what she was suffering from and an MRI revealed a fibrous cyst which was exerting pressure on her brain and affecting the rest of her body, including her eyesight.

On October 15, 2008, Ms Spiteri underwent emergency surgery to release the pressure on her brain and her baby had to be removed by Caesarean section.

"My child saved my life," the designer said. "Hadn't it been for the pregnancy I wouldn't have known what I had. Even knowing that I had something was a relief."

The operation worked and Ilona Captur recounts how the operation brought her close friend back. When she visited her the day after surgery, Ms Spiteri immediately called out her name, something she hadn't experienced in over two years. She was back drawing and had a birthday card ready for Ms Captur, which she cherishes to this day.

Revived, Ms Spiteri set about designing and, after undergoing a second operation to remove the cyst, she started working on a collection.

One of her ambitions had always been to present a solo fashion show at the Malta Fashion Awards, so she got in touch with organiser Adrian Mizzi to see whether that was possible.

"I liked her work but, as with anyone who approaches me, I doubted whether she had the stamina to keep up the hard work," Mr Mizzi said.

In the meantime, malignant tumours in her brain surfaced and an operation to have them removed in the UK last December loomed even closer. Faced with the uncertainty of what could happen in the next operation, she worked hard to finish the seven pieces in her collection before the surgery.

Her last operation was a success and her collection was paraded on the catwalk at the last Malta Fashion Awards on May 15, where Ms Spiteri collected the Prize for Determination.

It is indeed a feat this interview with her could take place at all because doctors had warned her she might not be able to speak properly following the last operation and that it could take more than five years to recover. Five days later, she was speaking again.

Ms Spiteri thanked Noel Zarb, Lizzie Portelli, Marthese Briffa, Odette Grixti, Josianne Vella, Jane Scicluna and Jane Ciantar for sewing her dresses. She reads the names out of a piece of paper to make sure no one is left out.

Her stay in the UK for treatment in December was funded by cancer charity Puttinu Cares Foundation for which Ms Spiteri has only words of gratitude. The seven pieces in her collection will be auctioned to help the foundation buy more flats in Sutton for cancer patients undergoing treatment in the UK.

She also expressed her deepest gratitude to the surgeons who operated on her and to the staff who cared for her at Mater Dei and in the UK.

Her life philosophy is simple: "If you want something, you have to fight for it."

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