On the 14th May I will be completing a 5km swim at the London Aquatics Centre in memory of one of my bestfriends Courtney Lily Hector who passed away last year, aged 19. Please help me raise as much money as possible so that together we can beat cancer. Courtney will always be my inspiration.  This is her story:

In 2021 Courtney finished college with two A*s and a B. She then went on to study law and criminology at Birmingham City university as she wanted to be a lawyer (I know she would have been  amazing at it)  

December 2021: Courtney started having severe headaches. She went to her doctors and was sent for tests.

17th January 2022: The test showed she had a small growth on her brain. It was treated and the swelling was temporarily reduced but more needed to be done as the tumour was putting a lot of pressure on Courtney’s brain. She was at risk of going blind and had to have surgery to allow fluid to flow to the opposite side of her brain.

26th January: Courtney had 8 staples removed and her vision began getting worse again. She was given medication to try and improve this. Despite this the surgery was successful and she became hopeful.

30th January: Having passed her driving test in December, she was told she couldn’t drive for six months so she sold her car.

10th February: Doctors said Courtney could go back to the gym. Slowly, life was returning to normal.

27th March: Courtney started to feel unwell and was admitted to hospital overnight for tests. She began losing her sight in both eyes.

9th April: Courtney celebrated her 19th birthday – she had the best time!

12th April: The tumour had grown, and the doctors wanted to operate.

14th April: A biopsy was carried out on the tumour. It was non-cancerous. However, given that it was growing so quickly it needed to be treated in the same way as a cancerous tumour.

28th April: Courtney went to the Royal Marsden to discuss her treatment.

4th May: She had her final scans, so doctors knew where to target the radiotherapy.

12th May: Courtney began her 6-week radiotherapy treatment.  Every day, Monday – Friday Courtney and her parents made the journey from Bracknell to the Royal Marsden. She also had to take a chemotherapy tablet every day.

During her treatment she lost all control of the left side of her body 

Once the treatment ended, Courtney had to take a chemo tablet once a month for 6 months. 

1st - 11th June: Courtney spent another 11 days in hospital. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and taken off the chemo tablet.

Courtney began physiotherapy as her body was very weak.

1st July: Courtney’s vision became blurry, and her hearing started to go

10th August: Good news, the swelling on her brain had gone down and it looked like the tumour had shrunk. Courtney was then put back on to the Chemo tablet.

As the weeks passed Courtney started to feel much better, she saw the light at the end of the tunnel and started looking to the future.

11th November: After a routine check-up appointment she received a call from the hospital saying they had found tumour cells on the surface of her brain. Not long after this, cells were found on the top of her spine. Courtney lost her appetite and was being sick every day.

27th November: Courtney was rushed into hospital and taken into intensive care. She went into a coma and her body began shutting down.

3rd December: Courtney passed away.

Throughout this entire time Courtney remained positive. She was so brave and never stopped fighting. In spite of everything she was going through she was still there for me and all of her friends. She had such a big heart. She was kind, caring, and loving and I miss her every day.

Courtney, I am swimming in your memory, and I know you will be cheering me on every step of the way. I love you baby girl🤍