Greig Frankland-Wilkinson

Greig's fundraiser for British Acoustic Neuroma Association CIO

Fundraising for British Acoustic Neuroma Association CIO

Story

So here we go again... a year ago I did the Brighton Marathon so I'm really looking forward to doing Manchester again this April.

I have a benign brain tumour located between my left ear and my brain. It's slow growing but making it's way towards pushing on the brain itself so at some point I'm going to have to do something about it, but for now I'm on watch and wait. Options are surgery to remove it where there is a risk of facial paralysis and it will more than likely destroy the hearing in my left ear. Alternatively, radiosurgery might stop the littler blighter in its tracks....for now....but there is no guarantee it won't start growing in the future and it's not as easy then to deal with the scarred surface of it. There is also a risk to the surrounding tissue being damaged too.

(You can see that June 2023 it was 12.9mm and in March 2019 it was 9.1mm).

I had my annual scan in February 2024 and I now know there has not been any significant change since a year ago which is good so it’s time to try and focus on making the most of the time until the next scan in Feb 2025! (First time I’ve had that since my first scan in Feb 2019!)

One of the biggest symptoms is fatigue. It's really hard being in surroundings with lots of noise and trying to hear what is being said - my brain tries so hard to work out what is going on and I'm exhausted by the end. (Being a teacher is possibly not the best thing in this situation but the pupils in my school are usually very supportive and understanding). It's likely whatever happens with the tumour that I will lose my hearing in my left ear and the tinnitus makes things difficult both in the day time and trying to sleep.

Ironically, doing exercise is one of the best combats of the mental fatigue, although it does wipe me out. That said, it is important I keep trying to do the things that I always used to be able to do. In 2018 I was doing amazingly well and had just ran under 20 minutes for 5km. Months later I was diagnosed and I took a bit of a hit.

Thankfully, I joined the Dragons running club just over a year ago and with their encouragement and support I have managed to make some progress back to what I was before. I'm struggling a bit at the moment so I have not been able to train as much as I had hoped (but that's nothing new!)

Some people can be sceptical and others wonder why do I put myself through all of this... the truth... I don't want to lose my former self. I want parts of the old me to stay with me and every time I run a marathon I finish I feel so proud that I have still been able to do it again and reassured that that same person is still inside. Running the Brighton marathon in 3h 44 mins 12 secs last year was faster than the last marathon I did before I was diagnosed and one minute from my PB! I never thought I could ever get that close again.

I have still been getting out for the usual parkrun every Saturday (with Liam and Owen supporting) and I have been able to do the odd 10km, with the Wilmslow half marathon being part of my training.

I can assure on the day I will give it a good go and hopefully it's something I can again be proud of!

Thank you for reading my page and a double thank you if you are able to donate to BANA - this is a charity which supports those with the particular type of brain tumour I have. Being a small charity it is always more of a challenge to get the name out there. It's a supportive bunch who arrange regular support group sessions and with more funding there is the opportunity to invest in more research into this rare type of tumour.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Here are some pictures below showing the many times I enjoy getting out on runs and taking part in races:

(Oldham Parkrun)

Parkruns are great as they're 5km so I can do them first thing on a saturday morning and then it doesn't matter if i don't do any more exercise for the rest of the day!

Stockport 10k

Aintree 10k

Aintree 10k

This was just before the Wilmslow 10k

Heaton parkrun

Sale water parkrun

Altrincham 10k

Wilmslow 10k

Manchester half marathon (October 2023)

This was a great weekend in Colwyn Bay towards the end of 2023. We did the Nova Prestatyn parkrun followed by the Conwy half marathon the next day!

This was a last minute trip to Blackburn for their 10k in December. I managed a sub 45 minute 10k!

This I think was the Wilmslow Festive 10k with many other Dragons taking part!

This was the Christmas day parkrun at the end of 2023!

Ribble Valley 10k in December 2024

Parkrun at Pennington Flash

Hyde parkrun! Liam wasn’t his usual smiley self!

Just before Christmas I did the Irchester country parkrun which was the one nearest to where I’m originally from.

This was the Four Villages half marathon in January 2024. I had to walk-run-walk-run nearly half of it as I was just too exhausted :-(

I always make sure I can finish with a sprint and a smile though! :D

This was the Daffodil Stockport 10k - I actually managed to run it faster than the previous year (45:11)

Chadderton hall parkrun was hard work - that hill 4 times!!!

Glossop parkrun - would recommend! One of the nicest ones I've done!

Liam was just not in a good mood that weekend - we also went over to sheffield for a crazy long run which was hard (I did feel as though I had overdone it that weekend)

And recently I did the Downsview parkrun in Toronto!

After coming back from Canada I then did the Trafford 10k in 46:26. I had to walk some of it but I was still pleased with my time.

Then I had the issue before the Wilmslow half marathon where I ended up with a corneal abrasion after a tree branch flicked in my face

I’ve had double vision ever since in my right eye but hopefully things will improve eventually. I went on to run the Salford 10k even though I was struggling to see.Managed it in 45:15 and didn’t walk once!

I then had a go at Clarence parkrun as part of the Dragons parkrun championships. My eye was still very sensitive to light so it was sunglasses travelling there and back but I ran without them - there was so much mud you needed to keep your eye on where you were going!

And finally I’ve been able to do some running whilst I have been away - I have been getting up early to try and get some last minute training in to hopefully make the difference on Sunday

My final run was a gentle 5km at parkrun the day before the marathon.

The Manchester evening news has written an article which is below

Manchester Evening News article

There is also a link to BANA here BANA

You've got this, Greig! The whole BANA family will be cheering you on

After the marathon I went to Bushy parkrun and ran 21:46 which is actually the fastest I've run 5km in over a year.

After finishing Bushy parkrun there was then another opportunity to have a picture with the sign!

Then on 25th April I took part in the Media City 10k running it in a time of 44:31 and finishing 59th out 540. This is the fastest I have run since March last year and also the THIRD fastest time I have ran 10k since 2018 (pre-diagnosis!)