A Leeds man found out he had a brain tumour after being taken to hospital following a fall down the stairs in his home.
Wayne Barton, 59, had been passing out regularly in October 2018 and had realised something was wrong. However, after coming home from a drink with his dad, he fell down the stairs and was hospitalised.
He said: “It happened all the time; in the garden when I was mowing the lawn, or when I was in the lounge. I’d spend a few seconds on the floor and then I would feel OK again."
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“I never told my wife Michelle and I managed to hide it from her because I don’t like worrying people. But she found out when I started having seizures during the night.”
At first, the hospital staff thought he had been drunk, but when he collapsed he went for an MRI scan. Mr Barton said: "The staff left me all night because they thought I was drunk, but when I collapsed, they suddenly rushed me to have an MRI scan.
"They said there was a mass on my brain which was a brain tumour. I walked out of the room because I thought I was going to die.”
He was diagnosed with the oligodendroglioma brain tumour in January 2019.
Wayne was set to undergo and operation to remove the tumour but after he had been put under for surgery, doctors discovered it was on a "sensitive" section of his frontal lobe so it could not be removed. When Wayne woke up, he said he "burst into tears".
Afterwards, Wayne underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy at St James' University Hospital and so far the tumour has slightly shrunk. During his treatment, he has also discovered his love of fishing and the countryside, after buying a caravan near Doncaster.
Now, Wanye, his wife Michelle and his family, including his children, 29-year-old Dominic and 36-year-old Ryan, will be embarking on a 'Walk of Hope' around the ten lakes at Lindholme Lakes Country Park. They hope to raise money for brain tumour research.
Wayne said: "One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour. When I see young children being affected by this, it really gets to me.
“Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to brain tumours. A lot more should be given to this devastating disease.
“This Walk of Hope means so much to me. I won’t be beaten by anything, not even by this.”
Another walk of hope will be taking place at Roundhay Park in Leeds. Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “This is a beautiful walk, and I would encourage anyone who is able to take part to do so. Not only is it a great social event in the outdoors but fundraising for it is a great way to support the work we do.
“We’re really grateful to Wayne for taking part in the Walk of Hope, as it’s only with the support of people like him that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Wayne who are forced to fight this awful disease.”
You can donate to Wayne's GoFundMe here.
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