We are helping raise money for The Walton Centre, they treated our colleague Kim when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and helped her on her road to recovery.

The Walton Centre in Liverpool offers a world class neuroscience service which includes many pioneering techniques, cutting edge treatments; and clinicians who are international leaders in their field. Over 100,000 patients are treated at the hospital each year with conditions ranging from head and spinal trauma injuries; brain and spine tumours; Epilipsy, MS, Motor Neurone Disease and Parkinson.The Charity funds a variety of projects in the hospital including research, innovation, new technology and patient & family facilities.

In February 2013, after 6 months of not feeling myself I was diagnosed

with having a brain tumour, I was relieved to finally be told I was
not losing the plot however I was not expecting to be told I had a
lump in my head 'a brain tumour' – I was utterly shocked.

Over the next four weeks I had two more MRI scans, two CT scans, and my breasts checked, this was all to make sure the brain tumour was not secondary.

I'm glad to say it wasn't.

So just my head to worry about! 

After the scans I was told the tumour was one of two types, either  chondroma or a chondrosarcoma, one would be benign and the other malignant. 

My consultant would not know which my tumour was until it was removed and that was the next step a craniotomy (which is the operation I underwent)

On the 20^th June 2013 I went down for surgery and 8 hours later I was out, I don't remember much at all over the next five days, I just remember the nurses on the intensive care ward asking me my name and where I was. After a little five step walk and sitting up right I was moved on to the Sherrington ward, I spent the next three nights on the ward before I got the pass to go home, I was so happy to be able to go home.

Over the next six weeks it was just a waiting game to hear what type of tumour it was (at this point I was hoping for the best). I had my scan and my appointment as planned and there I was told it wasn't the best of news, I was told it was the chondrosarscoma tumour and there was still some of the tumour remaining.

After the initial shock I was told I would need to have Proton Beam treatment in America, it turned out that if I was to have this treatment I would go blind in one eye with a high percentage of going blind in both, with having two young children this option was not the best for me, I just couldn’t imagine not seeing my children grow up, the thought completely scared me, I finally decided against having the treatment, now I understand I have a cancerous tumour but it's a slow growing one, so we are just on watch patrol, the chance is I will need to have an operation again but since the original operation the tumour has been behaving and has not grown – which is great news.

The reason for the branch trying to raise money for The Walton Centre is because they have done a lot for my family, my children were seven and five at the time.

The children came to see me whilst I was in The Walton Centre, the kids didn’t like how I looked after the operation, they found the process upsetting, I was so happy that the children had somewhere to go and used the family room, this let the kids be themselves and normalise the process as much as possible, it was so comforting to know the kids had this safe happy place to go to whilst my husband Jeff visited me.