A Coatbridge woman is set to put footballing superstars to shame ahead of the World Cup by taking part in a skilful fundraiser in memory of her dad.
Michelle Sexton was left "devastated" when her father Thomas died just two months after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Thomas was 74 when he passed away after suffering a pituitary adenoma in November 2019 and Michelle is marking the third anniversary of his death by doing the One Million Keepy Uppy Challenge for Brain Tumour Research to raise awareness of the disease.
Michelle, 41, said: "I was told dad was a walking time bomb and would have had the brain tumour for years without knowing.
“ It was on dad’s pituitary gland and it was massive.
"He was referred to University Hospital Hairmyres, where a CT scan confirmed he had a brain tumour.
"It was devastating and I didn’t know what would happen.”
Thomas had suffered “a few falls” in August 2019 and then went for an eye test a month later, where a mass was found behind his left eye.
On October 10, Thomas underwent surgery to remove the tumour at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
But despite the operation “going well” and Thomas “coming on leaps and bounds”, he suffered a massive stroke on November 11, 2019, and sadly died in hospital.
Now, as the world’s best football players get ready for the World Cup in Qatar, Michelle is preparing to take part in the One Million Keepy Uppy Challenge, which starts this Friday, November 18.
The challenge encourages people to complete 10,000 keepy-uppies towards the one million target - the number is symbolic as it costs £1 million to fund a Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence for a year.
Michelle said: “Dad taught me how to kick a ball and everything about football so this is a great challenge for me to do to raise awareness and much-needed money to help find a cure for brain tumours.
" I’m doing this for dad and I hope he would be proud of me.”
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, added: “We’re really grateful to Michelle for taking part in the One Million Keepy Uppy 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 Thomas who are forced to fight this awful disease.
“One person in three knows someone affected by a brain tumour.
"An estimated three million tickets will be sold for this year’s World Cup so that means more than one million fans attending will know the pain caused by this devastating disease.”
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK and also campaigns for the government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.
The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia and is also campaigning for greater repurposing of drugs.
To donate to Michelle’s fundraising campaign, visit here.
More information about the One Million Keepy Uppy Challenge can be found online.
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