Wife: Bring Andy home for Christmas
FUNDRAISING APPEAL OVER HUSBAND’S FATAL TUMOUR
TO everyone who knows him, Andy Bunting has always been the life and soul of the party.
Despite being diagnosed with a brain tumour several years ago, the 37-year-old’s friends say he has battled through with “positivity and courage”, even completing his third Great North Run while still undergoing chemotherapy.
But less than four months after getting married to his partner Sophie, Andy suffered a devastating stroke on the operating table while having surgery to remove part of the tumour.
The stroke has left Andy without the use of his right hand, arm or leg.
But most tragically of all, it means there is nothing more doctors can do for him, as his body is no longer strong enough for chemotherapy and they have removed as much of his brain as they can.
Former John Lewis worker Andy, from Gosforth, is in Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary undergoing physiotherapy to try and get some of his movement back.
Now his friends have launched a crowdfunding campaign to get Andy home for Christmas – by raising money to make the alterations needed before he can return home with Sophie.
The pair met in 2015 at a rugby match for a friend’s 30th birthday and hit it off straightaway, with teacher Sophie moving from Birmingham to Newcastle last year to be with him.
“He’d already been diagnosed by the time I met him and had had one craniotomy,” said Sophie, 30.
“Apart from the scar, you’d never have known there was anything wrong when I first met him.
“We’ve always had a normal life and done normal things – nobody knew there was anything different.”
But the tumour continued to grow and Andy underwent his second craniotomy last October, followed by chemotherapy.
In August, he and Sophie tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in Worcestershire, and Andy took the opportunity to fill the day with his trademark sense of humour and silliness.
Sophie said: “All the groomsmen had to wear jazzy socks, and for his stag do, he went as the T-Rex in Jurassic Park.
“We managed squeeze in a honeymoon to Lanzarote before his next operation – it’s a good job now that we did.”
Andy’s treatment was holding the tumour at bay but not shrinking it, so he had his third craniotomy in late November. to But during the operation, Andy suffered a stroke. Sophie said: “He’s still got his speech but he finds speaking difficult, and he gets confused. “Emotionally, the past few days have been really tough. He’s only 37, and having been massively independent, he’s now going to be reliant on a wheelchair and have limited use of his right hand.” But even worse was the news there is Sophie Bunting now no further treatment doctors can offer Andy.
He and Sophie are now focused on making the alterations they need to their home so they can enjoy the time they have left together.
Their friends have launched a fundraising page to raise the £3,000 they need to install a downstairs bathroom and widen doorways for Andy’s wheelchair.
Sophie said: “The goal is to get him home for Christmas. I want us to make the most of our time together and do what normal couples do, even if we have less time than other couples.”
To donate to the campaign go to www.justgiving.com and search for Yasmin Edson.