A devastated mother whose son is suffering from a terminal brain tumour has shared her heartbreak as she watches him deteriorate. "As him mum I want to save him, but I can't," she said.
Linda Peel, 56, said that "every minute is precious" after her son Andi, 30, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour in January 2020. In August 2019 the otherwise fit and healthy Andi, who was a manager at Carphone Warehouse, had an episode of confusion where he couldn’t remember how to drive.
Then, in January 2020, he started getting headaches, which became so severe that he had to pull over when driving. On January 20 that year he went to Leicester Royal Infirmary and had an MRI scan, which revealed a mass on his brain.
Linda is now working with the charity Brain Tumour Research to raise awareness of the disease and is taking on the 100 Squats or Star Jumps a day in November Challenge to raise much-needed funds to help find a cure.
Linda, who left her job as a clinic coordinator at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester in order to care for Andi at home, said: “When I was told he had a GBM, I felt sick. It was a huge shock and I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. From that day, our whole world changed.”
Andi had the tumour removed at Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Since then he has had some seizures, one of which resulted in him dislocating both of his shoulders. Since July 2022 Andi’s condition has further deteriorated.
Linda, from Groby, Leicestershire, said: “It’s an incredibly tough time for us. If I didn’t wake Andi up for his food and medication, he would sleep all day.
"He really isn’t with it now; he’s very confused and his memory is going. It’s soul-destroying watching him deteriorate.
“Looking at him now, I don’t think he has much longer. As his mum, I want to be able to save him but I can’t. Andi was told he had just 33 months to live and he’s now in the 33rd month.”
Since Andi’s diagnosis his family and friends have taken part in a number of fundraising challenges to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. In September 2020 Andi joined Linda and his aunt, Deb Peel, his uncle, Phil, and cousins Callum and Joe for a Walk of Hope.
Deb took part in the charity’s 10,000 steps a day challenge in February 2022 and Ross Bland held a basketball match at Leicester Riders’ stadium in support of his best friend in April 2022. Ross and his family and friends also took on the Walk of Hope at Bradgate Park in September this year.
Now Linda will do the 100 Squats or Star Jumps a Day in November Challenge to raise more money and awareness.
She said: “This is so important, because research into brain tumours is so under-funded. Something has got to change.
“Every minute with Andi is precious. I’m with him all the time and I want to be there and help him. I want to look back and know that I’ve done my best for him.”
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We are so sorry that Andi is now on end-of-life care. He has fought against his brain tumour with such strength and positivity and Linda has been a tower of strength for him.
“We’re really grateful to Linda for taking part in the 100 Squats or Star Jumps a Day in November 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 Andi who are forced to fight this awful disease. I would encourage anyone who is able to take part in the challenge to do so. Not only is it fun, but it gets you fit whilst raising vital funds to help find a cure for brain tumours.”
Statistics on brain tumours from Brain Tumour Research:
• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease
• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age
• One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour
• In the UK 16,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year
• Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia
• Brain tumours kill more men under the age of 70 than prostate cancer
• Only 12% of brain tumour patients survive beyond five years of their diagnosis compared with an average of 50% across all cancers
