Paul Swainson
#PeaksPedalsPaddles
Fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity
Story
On Sunday 28th July this year, myself, Mark Swainson and Phill Wright canoed the length of the longest lake and climbed the highest mountain in England (Lake Windermere and Scafell Pike), having cycled between them, in 11 hours and 40 minutes.
But that’s nothing compared to the journey Felix has been on.
Felix is my cousin’s little boy, and on 4th July last year - when he was just 17 months old - Felix returned home from nursery with his head tilted to one side. At first the doctors thought it was a condition called torticollis (wry neck).
However after several GP appointments and no improvement, Felix's mum and dad - Sam and Frank - sought a further opinion. The physio they saw was concerned and advised they go to straight to A&E to see a paediatrician.
A CT scan revealed a mass in Felix's brain stem.
Further tests revealed he had an Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumour (ATRT) - a rare, aggressive and life-threatening brain tumour that required specialist treatment.
The tumour was successfully removed in a 10-hour operation at Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital. A few weeks later Felix started a gruelling and intensive course of chemotherapy.
In addition to this treatment Felix spent nine weeks in Jacksonville, Florida receiving proton beam therapy, a treatment that has only just become available in the UK. Felix and his family returned home on Christmas Eve and after further chemotherapy at Alder Hey we were relieved to find out he was given the all clear on 18th March!
We want to help more children and their families receive good news like this by raising funds for The Brain Tumour Charity, and awareness of their #Headsmart campaign which aims to reduce diagnosis times - a critical factor in successful treatment.
We hit our first fundraising target of £978 - the height of Scafell Pike in metres - on 5th February.
We hit our second target of £2807 - the date of the challenge - the day before it, and then topped £3000.
If you can contribute anything at all, then we would be extremely grateful, but if you can't, please support us by sharing this page so we can spread the word as far as possible,
Thankyou.
Paul, Mark and Phill.
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The Brain Tumour Charity is at the forefront of the fight to defeat brain tumours, making a difference every day to the lives of people with a brain tumour and their families. They fund pioneering research to increase survival, raise awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours and provide support for everyone affected to improve quality of life. They are committed to having the biggest possible impact for every person affected by a brain tumour, and to defending the most amazing part of the human body.
But that’s nothing compared to the journey Felix has been on.
Felix is my cousin’s little boy, and on 4th July last year - when he was just 17 months old - Felix returned home from nursery with his head tilted to one side. At first the doctors thought it was a condition called torticollis (wry neck).
However after several GP appointments and no improvement, Felix's mum and dad - Sam and Frank - sought a further opinion. The physio they saw was concerned and advised they go to straight to A&E to see a paediatrician.
A CT scan revealed a mass in Felix's brain stem.
Further tests revealed he had an Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumour (ATRT) - a rare, aggressive and life-threatening brain tumour that required specialist treatment.
The tumour was successfully removed in a 10-hour operation at Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital. A few weeks later Felix started a gruelling and intensive course of chemotherapy.
In addition to this treatment Felix spent nine weeks in Jacksonville, Florida receiving proton beam therapy, a treatment that has only just become available in the UK. Felix and his family returned home on Christmas Eve and after further chemotherapy at Alder Hey we were relieved to find out he was given the all clear on 18th March!
We want to help more children and their families receive good news like this by raising funds for The Brain Tumour Charity, and awareness of their #Headsmart campaign which aims to reduce diagnosis times - a critical factor in successful treatment.
We hit our first fundraising target of £978 - the height of Scafell Pike in metres - on 5th February.
We hit our second target of £2807 - the date of the challenge - the day before it, and then topped £3000.
If you can contribute anything at all, then we would be extremely grateful, but if you can't, please support us by sharing this page so we can spread the word as far as possible,
Thankyou.
Paul, Mark and Phill.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Brain Tumour Charity is at the forefront of the fight to defeat brain tumours, making a difference every day to the lives of people with a brain tumour and their families. They fund pioneering research to increase survival, raise awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours and provide support for everyone affected to improve quality of life. They are committed to having the biggest possible impact for every person affected by a brain tumour, and to defending the most amazing part of the human body.