John’s story
A kind well loved person by all that knew him, he was a true gentleman as everyone said, a pleasure to know and a blessing to have him in your family. I was married to John for 24 years and we had two wonderful children Joe 21 and Hayley 17, he was truly a fantastic family man, who will be sadly missed by many.
John had worked in the transport industry for over 20 years. In mid January 2013 John started to have difficulties reading and understanding his e-mails at work, something he had done daily for almost all of his career. He knew something wasn’t right – within a week his speech was affected and he was finding it difficult to write, all concept of time, numbers and even finding the right words to say were becoming increasingly difficult.
“We will continue to donate in John’s memory so that we can help raise vital funds to raise awareness and find a cause and a cure for all brain tumour sufferers. John was overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and would be so proud of all what they have achieved”
A CT scan and a MRI scan confirmed there were two lesions on John’s brain. He was admitted to John Radcliffe Hospital for a biopsy and one week after surgery we were hit with the devastating news that John had a glioblastoma multiforme grade 4 tumour – they said they were unable to operate and the best treatment was radiotherapy and chemotherapy. We didn’t ask for a prognosis we just decided to take it one step at a time. Over the next several weeks John was to be admitted twice to hospital with headaches due to the pressure and his steroid levels. It was decided by the oncology team that it was best to give John three weeks intense radiotherapy and that was completed by the end of March 2013. We had regular check ups at the hospital afterwards and after a long wait John’s next scan to see how successful the treatment had been was arranged for 3rd June.
On 21st May 2013 John was admitted again to hospital for breathing difficulties. They suspected a clot on his lung. Unfortunately John passed away in the early hours of the next morning aged 51. It was just over three months since diagnosis – the only thing to say is that John was spared months of suffering and we did not have to watch as he slowly lost his battle, he died peacefully in his sleep. All through his illness and treatment John never once complained or felt sorry for himself, he remained positive throughout.
The John O’Nions Fund
After John was diagnosed everyone decided to raise awareness and money for The Brain Tumour Charity. We started off by buying wristbands and pin badges and selling them to family members and friends.
Joe and 29 of John’s and his work colleagues decided to raise money to climb Ben Nevis – it took place on 20th July 2013. Their total to date is over £19,000, a fantastic amount to be divided between The Brain Tumour Charity and Macmillan.
Hayley and her cousin Rhys took on the British 10k run on Sunday 14th July 2013 and have raised well over £400 each for The Brain Tumour Charity.
With various other events from cake sales to marathons planned we will continue to donate in John’s memory so that we can help raise vital funds to raise awareness and find a cause and a cure for all brain tumour sufferers. John was overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and would be so proud of all what they have achieved.
If you would like to donate please click on the ‘donate’ button at the top of this page, thank you.
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