A MERIDEN woman who is living with an aggressive brain tumour is hosting a virtual festive fund-raiser.
Hannah King-Page will be selling homemade macramé decorations online to raise money as part of the Brain Tumour Research’s Wear A Christmas Hat Day on December 17.
Last November she was diagnosed with a grade four glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) after having a number of seizures and struggling to speak.
The average survival time for GBM patients is just 12 to 18 months.
An MRI scan revealed there was an aggressive mass on Hannah’s brain and her only option would be palliative treatment.
Surgeons at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire removed around 40 to 50 per cent of the tumour and Hannah began six weeks of ‘relentless’ radiotherapy alongside a longer course of chemotherapy.
The former specialist musculoskeletal and pain management physiotherapist married her long-term partner Andrew, 46, a self-employed gas engineer.
She said: “We were married at Warwick Registry Office during lockdown when I was bloated and bald.
“In August we had a second ‘do’ when restrictions were lifted and I got to wear my dress again with all of our loved ones there.”
As she begins her fourteenth round of chemotherapy, Hannah is determined to help find a cure for the deadly disease, which is why she is fundraising as part of Brain Tumour Research’s Wear A Christmas Hat Day.
Hannah said: “I found post-surgery that my right hand wasn’t how it should; I hated how my handwriting looked and I refused to write any Christmas cards. I started baking and crafting macramé and this acted as my rehab to help me regain my hand mobility.”
Hannah’s mum, Norma Thomas, 71, who lives in South Wales, has already raised £400 for the charity at a crafty Christmas coffee morning, where she sold her handmade cushion covers, table runners and festive decorations.
Hannah said: “For as long as I can, I will fundraise and raise awareness of this horrible disease to help others who receive a destructive diagnosis.”
For more or to donate visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/hannah-thomas74
