Many of you may know my story and have already donated, thank you. You will know that I ran the 2018 London marathon in April and together we raised an amazing £18,500 (including gift aid). I am lucky to have secured a place to run the Great North Run in September again for Brain Tumour Research. Through the continued generosity of others organising events and gifting items following my ‘marathon fundraising efforts’ has meant my fundraising efforts can carry on and the money raised from these post marathon events & items can roll over to this event. For this I’m very grateful.

For those of you who don’t know why I’m so keen to carry on my fundraising efforts for Brain Tumour Research I’d like to share our story. My beautiful daughter Katie, now age 11, has an inoperable brain tumour.  

I would like to do something positive to advance brain tumour research, to help improve early diagnosis and to find new ways of tackling this horrible disease.  

I would like to share our story. Katie was diagnosed, back in 2011, a few months short of her fourth birthday.  She had emergency brain surgery that day and our world was forever changed.  Since then she has endured 20 months of chemotherapy,, countless operations, hospital stays and blood and platelet transfusions.  She was stable between 2014 and 2016 but, following tumour progression, she has since undergone 3 months of unsuccessful Proton Therapy in the USA, months wheelchair bound and on horrible steroids and Katie has recently finished another 12 month chemotherapy regime. 

Through all of this, Katie has been amazing!  The tumour has changed her.  Her balance is poor, her co-ordination means that she cannot run well and a right sided weakness means that she had to learn to write left handed.   When she should have been enjoying the typical life of a child, she was attending hospital for her chemo, sickness, infections, blood transfusions, scans, operations and tests.  Despite this, she still managed to attend school almost full time and her positive outlook and chatty nature rubs off on all who got to know her.

Katie's tumour is currently the smallest it has ever been as a result of her latest chemo regime.  She is back walking again, back to school and our fun loving daughter has returned.  Is this good news only temporary – no one knows but we hold on to what we can.

If I could do anything for my daughter to make her better I would.  If I could take the disease from her I would.  I can’t do either unfortunately but I can run and I can raise money for vital research.

Please support me by sponsoring me to raise funds not just for my own daughter but others who are struck down much too early by brain tumours.

Thank you so much!

Louise xx