John’s story
I’ve set up this page in memory of my wonderful husband who fought a brave battle with a brain tumour for over 4 years.
The effect this had on a man in his prime is indescribable, the diagnosis of a low grade brain tumour & associated epilepsy had an impact on the whole of his life. He lost his livelihood, he was employed as a LGV lorry driver a job he loved, a job he’d done since he turned 21. He also lost his car licence & his independence.
Over the 4 years my brave husband endured endless MRI scans, 4 tumour debulkings, numerous wound repairs, radiotherapy & chemotherapy. Not to mention unbearable seizures, numerous medications, hospital appointments. We did however meet some amazing people along the way, who showed true dedication to their jobs.
The beginning of January 2015 my husband had already spent 2 weeks in hospital with a wound infection, when he had numerous seizures & scans showed that his tumour had changed into a Grade 4 giloblastoma multiforme (GBM) we were both shocked & unbeknown to each other did what we all do & googled it!
From diagnosis to death was reported around 12 months, this was to prove spot on for John. He died in hospital on 29 December 2015 aged 43, leaving me a widow at 43 after spending over half our lives together & having 2 amazing children aged just 13 & 10 when their dad died.
“I’m on a mission and if it means running, walking, cooking, writing letters,organising events, sharing stuff on Facebook, I will do what I can to raise as much as I can to fund the much needed research.” Tracy Lote
I had begun to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity because I was shocked at how little money goes into researching this dreadful disease. I took part in my first half marathon, to all the non runners out there that’s 13 miles. John always supported me in my running and I found it a great release from the daily stresses. I was in control when I was out running, I felt I had lost control of my life once John was diagnosed we both described the journey like being stuck on a roller coaster.
So I’ve set up this fund to raise money into researching this disease, we need to find a cure.
I’m on a mission and if it means running, walking, cooking, writing letters, organising events, sharing stuff on Facebook I will do what I can to raise as much as I can to fund the much needed research.
My aim for the first year of setting up a memorial fund was to raise £10,000 this was achieved with lots of hard work. Family, friends and work colleagues have supported me in every fundraising activity I undertook.
A close friend has been a huge driving force behind many successful events. The fund target would not be what it is today without her huge commitment and ideas.
Fundraising activities have included a fun day, numerous cake sales, two ladies nights, pub crawl, bingo night, raffles and a quiz to name a few.
I have just completed my 3rd half marathon running in my charity vest, where I’m pleased to say I got a personal best shaving nine minutes off my previous half marathon time.
My family including grandparents, John’s sister, husband & niece & 6 friends took part in The Twilight Walk held in Chester. We all enjoyed being part of a well organised event.
I’m a keen runner and regularly take part in a free weekly 5K park run held in my home town of Telford on a Saturday morning, to mark the start of Brain Tumour Awareness Month I contacted my local park run and they were happy to support the charity. Many runners wore bandanas and ran in the charity colours, we held a cake sale at the finish line and the support was amazing.
I’ve recently returned back to work in a different role because I need to be around for the children. I’m still committed to raising awareness and money for The Brain Tumour Charity.
My 14 year old son is also a keen runner (a lot faster than me) and we are looking at him doing 12 10k events starting in December once he is 15 the minimum age for most 10k events. He wants to do his bit in his dad memory.
Thank you for taking the time to read this your support is appreciated.
