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National brain tumour research funding needs to increase to £35 million a year
Bereaved families to lead Walk of Hope
The
families of two children lost to brain tumours will lead a Walk of
Hope on Saturday 30th
September to help find a cure for the disease.
The
bereaved families of Aaron Wharton, seven, and Ella McCreadie, 13, have both set up Fundraising
Groups, called Aaron’s Army and
Ella’s Army. They are joining forces to host our Walk of
Hope in Ellesmere,
Shropshire.
Aaron
was diagnosed with an anaplastic ependymoma in April 2020, at the age of four. Despite numerous
surgeries, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the cancer kept returning. Aaron
passed away on Sunday 9th April this year.
Heartbreakingly,
Ella passed away in her sleep in December 2022. It was only later when they
received the coroner’s report that her parents, Sophie Penrose and Alastair
McCreadie, learnt their beloved eldest child had suffered a haemorrhage caused
by a high-grade diffuse
midline glioma. Her shocked parents
said there was no warning of her condition as she had no symptoms at all.
The
two heartbroken families were introduced to each other through Brain Tumour
Research after Aaron’s mum Nicola has already identified Ellesmere, where
Ella’s family lives, as the location for a Walk of Hope. They soon discovered
other coincidences which convinced them their lost children had brought them
together.
Nicola
said: “When we were choosing names before our baby was born, Aaron was going
to be called Ella if he’d been a girl and when I visited Ellesmere to check it
out for the walk, there was a bench by the lake with Aaron’s initials AW carved
into it.”
Sophie said: “Our paths were meant to have crossed. I hope we can raise lots of money and help bring hope to families in the future whose loved ones are diagnosed with brain tumours.”
To
register for one of our Walk of Hope events, or to organise your own, click
here.
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