Lorn’s Legacy lives on
SISTERS LEAD HUNDREDS IN CHARITY FUN RUN
Hundreds turned out to show support for Sunderland sisters who organised a charity run on the first anniversary of their mum’s death.
Lisa Atkinson, 35, and Louise Bircham, 37, were devastated by the death of mum Lorna Atkinson, 69, of East Herrington, who died in March last year following an 18-month battle with a brain tumour.
To mark a year since her passing, the sisters hosted a 5k run at Saltwell Park in Gateshead, which attracted more than 300 fun-runners and raised almost £900 to fund brain tumour research.
Following their mum’s death, the pair set up The Lorn’s Legacy, an umbrella charity which has raised thousands of pounds for national charity Brain Tumour Research.
Lisa said: “We were blown away by the support we got. It meant such a lot to Louise and me. We miss mam every day.
“We lost dad very suddenly from a heart attack, which was a massive shock, but the way mam died was so cruel. The brain tumour changed everything about her; her personality, appearance, mobility and behaviour. She changed so much that she was barely recognisable as the same person.”
Their efforts coincide with Wear A Hat Day, today.
Launched by Brain Tumour Research in 2010, the awareness day encourages schools, workplaces, families and individuals to wear a hat and fundraise for the charity to help fund life-saving research.
Louise, who is mum to Cameron, 12, Adam, eight, and Jessica, four, said: “Mam died in March, which is Brain