I am raising money for my husband Stewart, 43, who lives in Derby with me (Anna) and our son William, 6.

Stewart has been living with an incurable brain tumour since 2011. He received a successful course of treatment in 2013/14 however in December 2021 Stewart experienced a change in symptoms. Following an urgent MRI scan we received the devastating news that Stewart’s tumour had begun to grow again. Stewart was put onto chemotherapy and a scan following this showed that the tumour had continued to grow, leaving us all heartbroken.

On 4th May, Stewart was getting ready to walk William to school. He suddenly felt numbness spreading all of the way down the left side of his body. Stewart shouted to a very frightened William that he was not feeling very well and rang our friend next door for help. William had suddenly seen his Daddy becoming unwell and unable to walk.

An MRI head scan showed that Stewart had had a stroke. A Neurologist told us that he did not feel that Stewart would be suitable for further chemotherapy, thankfully our fears were allayed by the Oncologist two days later who advised that Stewart could trial another chemotherapy for a further three cycles. He told us that if this is not effective then there are very few other treatments funded by the NHS, apart from possible clinical trials.

Since the stroke, we have had to adapt to a new “normal”. Stewart was initially only able to walk short distances with a zimmer frame and needing help with many of his daily tasks.

Emotionally it is so tough on us all – William is very young and it is difficult to know exactly how he is being affected. We are trying to keep things as normal as possible for William, which is taking a lot of determination from us both. It is incredibly hard to remain positive for William whilst Stewart is recovering from a stroke and undergoing chemotherapy and we are all living with an uncertain future. Stewart wants to be here for William for as long as he possibly can be.