Daughter to do challenge for ‘ walking time bomb’ father
AFAMI LY wa s l e f t devastated after their “walking time bomb” dad died just two months after his brain tumour was found. Thomas Sexton passed away after being diagnosed with pituitary adenoma as medics discovered the large mass behind his right eye.
The 74- year- old, from Coatbridge, had suffered a few falls in August but wasn’t diagnosed with pituitary adenoma until November 2019.
Now his daughter Michelle is marking the third anniversary of his death by doing the One Million Keepy Uppy Challenge for Brain Tumour Research to raise awareness of the disease.
The 41- year- old said: “I was told dad was a walking time bomb and would have had the brain tumour for years without knowing.
“It was on dad’s pituitary gland and it was massive. He was referred to University Hospital Hairmyres where a CT scan confirmed he had a brain tumour. It was devastating and I didn’t know what would happen.”
On October 10, Thomas underwent surgery to remove the tumour at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
Despite the operation “going well” and Thomas “coming on leaps and bounds” he sadly suffered a massive stroke on November 11, 2019 and died in hospital. Now, Michelle is preparing to take part in the football challenge which starts on Friday to honour him. The challenge encourages people to complete 10,000 keepy- uppies towards the one million target – the number is symbolic as it costs £ 1 million to fund a Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence for a year.
Michelle said: “Dad taught me how to kick a ball and everything about football so this is a great challenge for me to do to raise awareness and much- needed money to help find a cure for brain tumours.
“I’m doing this for dad and I hope he would be proud of me.”
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re really grateful to Michelle for taking part in the One Million Keepy Uppy Challenge, as it’s only with the support of people like her that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Thomas who are forced to fight this awful disease. “One person in three knows someone affected by a brain tumour.” Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK.
It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the d r i v i n g force behind the call for a national annual spend of £ 35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia and is also campaigning for greater repurposing of drugs.