On the 21 March last year I lost one of the most important precious people in my life, Andy wasn’t just a brother to me but a best friend.

He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in June 2005 and told he might only have 10 years to live, I never actually expected that to happen. Near the end he tragically lost his mobility and eye sight. This is not the way a young man of 40 who was an outdoor pursuits instructor and a competitive sportsman, specialising in tennis coaching, should finish his life.

Andy lived his life for his tennis and his two Children Blue age 12 and Beau age 8.

It all started off in 2005. I came out of hospital with my first child Matt and at the same time Andy went into hospital after suffering from epileptic fits. He was subsequently diagnosed with a tumour the size of a golf ball wrapped around one of the main lobes in the brain and we were advised it was inoperable due to the possible implications of Andy losing his speech and mobility. The doctors thought that this tumour had possibly been growing slowly since Andy was a teenager. The tumour remained benign but still continued to grow and he was prescribed various drugs to try and combat its symptoms. Sadly it turned malignant and aggressive and to all our surprise the surgeon decided to operate and removed as much of the tumour he could. During this and subsequent radiotherapy and chemotherapy Andy remained incredibly strong and positive, he would still laugh and joke about things.

On 1 February 2012 he was given 4-10 weeks to live.  He had tried to keep his independence by living with one of his best friends, but, finally on the 7th February 2012 had to move to Devon to be cared for at my parents’ home with the help of his siblings and partner, Claire.

We could not have coped with this without the help and support of the Marie Curie nurses who came night after night in March to sit & nurse Andy when we realised as a family we just couldn’t be with him 24 hours. Simultaneously, Marie Curie and also Hospiscare in Exeter supported us with help and advice of what was to come and tried to prepare us for when we would finally lose him. With their help it meant that Andy was able to stay at my parents’ house almost until the end.

I am climbing Kilimanjaro in September 2013 to raise money for Marie Curie and Hospiscarefor the invaluable support offered to us and for other families going through similar circumstances to enable them to have the same help and support that we had. I would also like to donate some of the money that is raised for the Brain Tumour Charity, formerly Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, SDBTT, Farnborough, http://www.thebraintumourcharity.org.  It was so frustrating knowing you couldn’t do anything to help him get better.

Andy loved mountains and challenges and hopefully this journey will help me personally grieve for him and honour his memory.