Our son Tom was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December 2005. He had emergency surgery and was able to spend Christmas at home with his family but collapsed on New Years Day and was rushed into hospital where he had further emergency surgery. Biopsy results confirmed that he had a rare malignant tumour that required four lengthy sessions of aggressive chemotherapy followed by six weeks of daily radiotherapy.

From his experiences on both adult neurosurgery and paediatric cancer wards Tom was adamant that only teenagers know what teenagers need in troubled times and he was a great supporter of the plans for a Teenage Cancer Trust unit that is scheduled for construction at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

Throughout this time his friends visited him in hospital and at home and Tom remained cheerful and confident that he would return to Cardiff University where he was studying Economics. He was also visited by his CLIC/Sargent Nurse who explained his treatment to him and was able to reassure him about some of the side effects of treatment such as weight gain and hair loss. Tom really liked her especially as her contact with Chelsea Football Club, which he had supported since he was twelve, resulted in an autographed photograph from his hero Frank Lampard that arrived on his 19^th birthday! In June 2006 Tom was told he was cured of cancer.

Cruelly, just one week later, an MRI scan revealed spinal secondaries with no hope of a cure. The news was devastating to Tom and his family but he never complained even when he was in constant pain and became paralysed from the waist down. His main worries at this time were about how we (his parents) would cope with losing him and how his friends would cope with the bad news. He did not want to tell his friends about his bad news but we persuaded him otherwise and they all rallied round. These same friends have raised money for CLIC/Sargent and continue to fundraise on behalf of the Teenage Cancer Trust because they now know at first hand how important these charities were to Tom.

In hospital Tom was in constant pain and although he wanted to go home to die he was worried about the pain getting worse and his parents not being able to cope with his care. When a hospital consultant told him his pain would probably never be under control we were all in despair. Thankfully, his CLIC/Sargent nurse assured him that pain control was possible at home. She was right; once he was home he was pain free and we had no problems caring for him. We worked closely with the consultant in adult palliative care at the local Marie Curie hospice and Tom’s GP who visited every day. The last two weeks of Tom’s life was spent at home where his friends visited him constantly. During the lovely weather of July 2005 he was able to sit in his wheelchair in his own ‘Beer Garden’ to entertain his friends and live up to his reputation as best 'Party Animal’ (as voted for in the Cardiff High School Yearbook, 2005). Tom was able to say goodbye to all his friends and receive the last rites in his own home, which he loved.

We have now established an annual "book token prize" of £50 for “The most improved A-level students” in both Chemistry and Economics at Cardiff High School - Tom's favourite subjects! Tom’s friends organized the first “Footie for the King” tournament on August 20^th, that raised £1300 followed by a “Gig for the King” on the 18^th September at Dempsey’s that raised £270. 

                                 !!  More Fundraising  !!

Two of Ruth’s friends from the Swansea School of Nursing, Jaynie Rance & Jill John, ran the Swansea 10k on September 24th for TCT and raised £60 and £146.

Tom Stephenson, Dave Lutwyche, Lowri Angell-Jones (£476) and Caroline Joll (£205) ran the Cardiff half-marathon on October 15th, again with all their sponsorship monies going to TCT - watch this space to see how much has been raised!

Mat Stephenson, Andrew Gardiner, Tom Grant, James Sullivan, Alex Finch, Craig Gardiner (Andrew's father!), Alex Gordon, Jonathan Lloyd-Evans and Kate Norman also ran the Cardiff half-marathon with their sponsorship monies going to Toms other charity - CLIC/Sargent.

We have just received £260 from Swansea University and a bunch of cheques from the funeral directors. We now know that  £2251.77 has been collected from friends and family in lieu of flowers at Tom’s funeral – again everything going to TCT. 

We have recently received a cheque for £1000 from Cardiff Hugh School from the monies they raised at their fashion show in November.

Kitty sang at a fundraising event in Llandaff Cathedral at the begining of December and we are waiting to see how much this will contribute to TCT. 

Ther has been activity at both Swansea  and Cardiff Universities and andthisshould add another £800+ to the collections!

As of the 24th December just over £6900 will have been collected off-line and paid directly to the Teenage Cancer Trust (Wales) in memory of Tom and this is just the start!

 

                             ! GOOD NEWS !

Although late, work will start on the construction of a Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff in Spring 2007

                               ! GOOD NEWS !

 Please support Toms friends and the Teenage Cancer Trust by making a donation on this website or click here to go direct to the Teenage Cancer Trust website or here to go to the TCT MYspace site. Your donation will make it possible for other young people, like Tom, to be supported during treatment and be treated in a specialist adolescent unit.

 Tom’s death at 19 years of age was a tragedy but he made it clear that he wanted us, and his friends, to raise money for CLIC/Sargent and the Teenage Cancer Trust because they had cared for him. We hope you will do so too.

 Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to donate: Teenage Cancer Trust will receive your money electronically and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in Gift Aid will be added to your donation at no cost to you.

 Please donate generously and use the "Tell a friend" link to send this page on and on.

Many thanks for your support.

Ruth & Adrian Davies