In 2015, aged 14, Kaleb fell into a coma on a school mountain climbing trip in Morocco, due to a previously undiagnosed brain tumour that bled and caused hydrocephales and brain damage. Over the next few weeks, Kaleb nearly died several times, and had 5 neurosurgeries, in Morrocco then at Birmingham Children's Hospital. Thanks to the highly skilled neurosurgery, good fortune (e.g. being near a Marakkech hospital with an MRI when he collapsed), and Kaleb's own fierce courage and determination, Kaleb survived. 

Kaleb is still living with the inoperable low grade brain tumour and its impact, including fatigue, memory difficulties, an array of endocrine damage that will require lifelong monitoring and medication. He has regular MRIs to watch his tumour in case further treatment is required. 

Despite all Kaleb has endured and the (often hidden) difficulties he lives with, he loves his life and lives it to the full with his friends and family. Over the last 4 years, he has focused on improving his memory, working out how to adjust his life to manage the fatigue and the inevitable trauma of the diagnosis and the tumour's daily continuing daily impact, and studying for his GCSEs and A levels.  

When Kaleb left hospital in 2014, he often could not remember who we, his mum and dad, were. When he returned to school, he'd forget what he'd been doing 20 minutes before. The fact that he achieved 3* at A-level in 2019 is testament to not just his amazing Birmingham Children's Hospital neurosurgeon , but also to Kaleb's never ending daily determination to find a way of managing his various brain injuries, fatigue and hidden disabilities, as well as his unrelenting use of memory techniques to aid his learning. 

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, and the majority of those who live with a brain tumour that cannot be removed are significantly disabled by it. Yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

The Brain Tumour Charity is providing research funding to find new treatments, offers brain tumour patients and their carers support, and drives urgent change. The Brain Tumour Charity is doing this right now, understanding that when you, or someone you love, is diagnosed with a brain tumour a cure really can't wait.