A "loving" dad-of-three was told he had months left to live after crashing his van into bollards.
Patrick-John O’Brien died from a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour in February 2020. The 69-year-old, who was known to all by the nickname Chucka, first realised something was wrong when he had a car accident two years earlier and was later taken by air ambulance to The Walton Centre.
His daughter Kerry, 41, from from Castletown in the Isle of Man, said: “Dad was reversing his van at the harbour in Castletown and he hit the white metal bollards. Without knowing he kept reversing and scraped the passenger side of the van.
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“He realised that he couldn’t see out of the left side of his eye properly because his peripheral vision had gone."
Chucka went to see his GP after the crash who thought he had suffered a stroke and sent him straight to A&E. After undergoing various tests at Noble’s Hospital in Douglas, the results of an MRI scan were sent to The Walton Centre, where specialists said Chucka had not had a stroke, but believed he had a brain tumour.
The 69-year-old, who was a retired quartermaster on the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company with over 40 years’ service, was flown over to The Walton Centre where surgeons removed the tumour. GMB is a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour with a devastatingly short average survival time of just 12-18 months.
Kerry said: “Dad seemed absolutely fine after that. Once the tumour had been removed, you could see all the worry on his face had gone and he seemed relieved it was over. We had our dad back, we didn’t realise how bad it was until his surgeon said his tumour was the size of a tennis ball."
Chucka was told he had a terminal brain tumour, and then the devastating news that he would have just 15 months to live if he had treatment. He underwent three weeks of radiotherapy and chemotherapy at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre on Merseyside.
Chucka and his wife Linda travelled to and from Liverpool every month for him to have an appointment with his doctor, have scans, blood tests and to collect his chemotherapy. Kerry said: “With the treatment, dad lost his appetite, and he slept a lot more, but he was doing really well.
“Unfortunately, a routine monthly scan in August 2018 showed he had a tumour on his lung. He had a biopsy which showed as a primary tumour and he would need further radiotherapy and chemotherapy.”
In November 2019, Chucka’s legs started to give way and he was getting sciatica-like pain. A routine doctors appointment in Liverpool and another MRI scan revealed he had two tumours on his spine.
Kerry said: “ He was told that there was no point in having chemotherapy now. Dad didn’t tell us any of this until January because he said he didn’t want to ruin Christmas.
“He couldn’t sleep, and he was hallucinating. Dad was normally really laid back, but he became snappy with us. He was in so much pain and said he wanted to go into a hospice to get the pain-relief under control.”
Two weeks after being transferred to a hospice, Chucka died on February 3, the day before his wife Linda’s birthday. Now, Kerry, her sister Bev, and friend Chelsea Gale, 30, are walking the 4.25-mile lap of the Isle of Man's Southern 100 course daily throughout May to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.
Kerry said: “ Dad always used to go and watch the Southern 100 so this is close to my heart. He is buried at Malew Church, which is known as ‘Church Bends’ on the course, so I get to pass him each time I do a lap.
“Brain tumours get such a small amount of government funding, it’s disgraceful, so it’s so important that I can raise as much money as possible to help fight this devastating disease.”
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK singularly focused on finding a cure for brain tumours through campaigning for an increase in the national investment into research to £35 million per year. It is also fundraising to create a sustainable network of brain tumour research centres in the UK.
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We’re really grateful to Kerry 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 Chucka who are forced to fight this awful disease.
“Unlike many other cancers, brain tumours are indiscriminate. They can affect anyone at any time. Too little is known about the causes and that is why increased investment in research is vital.”
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the government and the 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.
To donate to Kerry’s fundraising page click here.
