The family of a grandmother who left specific instructions to live life to the full before she died from a brain tumour have raised tens of thousands of pounds in her memory.
Julie Cooper died in 2019, aged 64, after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma, or fast-growing brain tumour.
Her family set up the Live Life for Julie fund in her honour, to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity and to follow her philosophy of making the most of life.
They hope the fund will top £40,000 after their latest event, which will see a group of 37 cyclists setting off on Friday for a two-day bike ride along the 127-mile Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
She wouldn't want us to be sad, she'd want us to go and do something fun and amazing— Luke Cooper, Julie Cooper's son
The riders will include Mrs Cooper’s husband Michael, 69, who is taking part just months after an operation to remove his prostate, as well as other friends and relatives.
Her son Luke Cooper, 43, who now lives in Liverpool but grew up in Leeds, said: “If I’m honest, my mum would think all this fuss isn’t worth it and she thinks everyone should just get on with things.
“She would tell us to go and do as much as we can. This is our way of honouring that.
“Half of this is about raising money and the other half is about a load of friends and family getting together and having a really good time.
“My dad had prostate cancer earlier this year and it’s only three months since he had his prostate removed but he is taking part in the ride because he was left instructions by my mum too and she was in charge.
“This is about living life and having fun. My mum would like the party bit. She wouldn’t want us to be sad, she’d want us to go and do something fun and amazing.”
Mr Cooper said his mother had minor symptoms such as memory loss, feelings of stress and a virus for three to four months before her diagnosis.
He said: “It wasn’t until enough smaller occurrences happened that she went for a CT scan which found there was quite a large growth on her brain.
“That diagnosis was in November and she died just before Christmas.
“A big part of what The Brain Tumour Charity does is to get a better understanding of symptoms and find a cure.
“The reason we feel so passionate about raising money is this is a real unknown.
“There’s been research into why people get glioblastomas but it seems very indiscriminate and nothing to do with any particular person being susceptible or lifestyle or anything like that.”
The money raised by the family will go specifically to research for glioblastomas.
To donate go to www.justgiving.com/team/llfj
