A grandfather who lost his life to an aggressive brain tumour discovered his realised what was wrong after watching Channel 4's 24 Hours in A&E.
Glenn Farley, from the Alway area of Newport, was just 51 when he died in November 2019, 19 months after being diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour.
The much loved father-of-two and grandfather-of-three is now being honoured by his family who are promoting Brain Tumour Research in order to find a cure for the disease.
Affectionately known as ‘Granchie Glenn’ by his grandchildren, Maisie, seven and Lilly, three, he never got to meet his youngest granddaughter, Ella, who is one.
The keen Newport County A.F.C fan and steelworker at Orb Steelworks in Newport began to experience drop foot – a condition that affects the foot and toe mobility – causing Glenn to drag his leg as he walked.
Glenn and his wife Thomasina, 54, initially thought he had suffered a stroke, and went to A&E at Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport after speaking to out of hours staff over the phone.
Glenn had no other symptoms at the time. Thomasina said: "At first it was just the drop foot. So we just thought he had had a stroke. he did not have any headaches at all".
A scan of Glenn’s body from the neck down found nothing unusual and he was kept in overnight for monitoring. The next day on his return home, Glenn suffered multiple seizures.
In a twist of fate, it was only when he tuned in to Channel 4's 24 hours in A&E and saw a patient with the same symptoms he was experiencing was he finally able to work out what was wrong.
This patient had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, causing Glenn and Thomasina to go back to the hospital.
Glenn was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumour, and was operated on in March 2018.
At the time, two more tumours were discovered and Glenn was told he would be closely monitored for any changes. What followed was nine months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy which successfully shrunk the remaining tumour.
However, Glenn was left in a wheelchair and told he may never walk unaided again.
“Our family really rallied around for us at such a hard time, especially my sister’s husband, Chris. He took him every day to his treatment, physio and the gym, he even took him when Glenn was ready to go back to his first football match," Thomasina said.
"They were more than family, they were best friends and they even worked together.”
Determined as he was, Glenn defied the odds to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day in July 2019.
Just one month later, Glenn felt a pain in his chest. When he woke the following day, he had lost the use of both of his legs. He was later told that the cancer had sadly spread to his spinal cord.
After two weeks of radiotherapy on his spine, and three bouts of sepsis, the father of two was eventually discharged to receive palliative care at home. He died surrounded by his family on 16 November.
Thomasina and Glenn met aged 16 and had many happy years together. But he was still taken too soon.
Thomasina said: "We had football trips, holidays, and happy memories together. We were 16 when we first got together.
"When I saw they were doing the 10,000 steps to try and find a cure, I thought it would be a good way to get the word out there about brain cancer."
Now, Thomasina and her eldest granddaughter Maisie, 7, are raising money for Brain Tumour Research by walking 10,000 steps per day for the month of February. You can donate here.
Thomasina said: “Maisie and I have been loving the challenge so far, with all of our family cheering us on. Glenn would have loved it and I know he’d be very proud of what we were doing to help other families going through something similar."
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