A mum who lost her father to suicide and was diagnosed with a brain tumour within the space of six months, having seizures up to three times a month, has taught her 10-year-old son how to call 999 and says she’s “only still alive now for (her) kids’ sake”.
Kerry Warburton, 35, who lives with her partner, Craig Kirkham, 36, their son, Ethan, 10, and their daughter, Ellana, 10 months, landed her dream job as a teaching assistant in December 2019, but in April 2020 she began having seizures where her eyes would turn “completely white” and she could no longer work. On top of this, in July 2020 Kerry’s dad died by suicide, and in January 2021 doctors found a tumour in her brain, which was causing her seizures.
One month later, doctors tried to remove her tumour by performing an open craniotomy, which made her lose her speech, and while in hospital she contracted Covid and was quarantined for 12 days. Her partner Craig thought she was on “death’s door” and doctors were “seconds away” from turning off her life support, but she recovered.
Things were beginning to look up – Kerry fell pregnant with her second child, Ellana, but after resuming treatment, a follow-up MRI scan revealed that her brain tumour was at stage four. Now, Craig is planning to walk the equivalent of a half-marathon to raise money for stem cell therapy, which could prolong Kerry’s life by three to five years.
“I was at an all-time low when receiving treatment, especially after losing my dad – I’m only still alive now for my kids’ sake,” Kerry said.
In December 2019, Kerry finally landed her dream job, as a teaching assistant, after going back to college as a mature student. But in April 2020, Kerry began to have seizures, which was the first warning sign for her terminal brain tumour.
Her partner Craig said: “She was shaking like mad, and her eyes rolled back in her head, and I saw foam and blood come out of her mouth. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I was so scared, and I thought she was dying.
“The whole bed was shaking and I thought we were having an earthquake or something. I had no clue what to do – I was trying to push her head back into the pillow to stop her shaking, and her eyes were completely white.”
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Craig quickly called an ambulance and Kerry was taken into hospital for tests and an MRI scan. But Kerry was not diagnosed with anything and continued to have seizures up to three times a week, while her father died by suicide in July 2020.
Kerry said: “I hit rock bottom, they took me off my seizure meds because it can cause low moods, and my seizures got worse – I was having them twice a week.”
In January 2021, she received more devastating news – she had a five-by-five-by-five centimetre tumour in her brain. Just a few weeks later, in February, Kerry had an open craniotomy, and was told she had stage two brain cancer, which caused her to have aphasia – when a person has difficulty with their language or speech.
She explained: “I lost my speech completely, it was horrible. It was so hard for me because I wanted to speak – I could speak clearly in my mind, but I couldn’t get it out.”
When in hospital, she contracted Covid-19 and was quarantined for 12 days.
Craig said: “I thought she was on death’s door. It was so scary – they were seconds away from putting her to sleep.
“It was terrifying because you couldn’t go and see her. I didn’t sleep at all – I’d message her and check her WhatsApp constantly just to check she was alive.”
Once out of hospital, Kerry found out she was pregnant – and in June 2022 she gave birth to her second child, Ellana. Just two months later, she had another MRI scan which concluded the brain tumour was terminal and stage four.
Craig said: “It was scary as hell – we were all happy, we had the baby, and then we were thrown back into the deep end again. We had to travel for 55 miles for treatment again, for six weeks every single day.”
Since October 2022, Kerry has been receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which has caused her to lose her hair and put on over two stone. She said: “It affects my confidence – I don’t want to leave the house.”
Kerry, of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, continues to have seizures, but they have gone down to three per month, and has even had to teach her 10-year-old son Ethan how to call an ambulance.
She said: “We’re scared to death that I might have a seizure when Craig is at work, so we’ve taught him how to call an ambulance. We’ve had to give him counselling at school to cope with me being so ill.
“It was hard to teach him how to do it, I was petrified, and his school have helped. I know it must be horrible for my son, I blame myself for him getting upset about it.”
To raise money for stem cell therapy Craig has set up a GoFundMe and plans to walk from Lincoln Castle to his house, which is the equivalent of a half-marathon, with Kerry’s weight, 12 stone, on his back.
Craig said: “Gravity will be trying to pull me into the ground just like this tumour is trying to put her in the ground, but we are going to defy both.”
Kerry added: “It would just be wonderful to have the treatment, and to not worry my son anymore.”
To find out more about Craig’s fundraising, visit www.gofundme.com/f/kerry-the-white-knight
