Our deepest and most heartfelt condolences go to her family, to her sister Gracie, mum Nicola and dad Mark.
Laura was steadfast in her determination to share the story of her own diagnosis and treatment in order to raise vital awareness of brain tumours, becoming a key Young Ambassador of The Brain Tumour Charity. In this role she touched the hearts and minds of so many others, reaching out to offer comfort and hope to others going through similar diagnoses.
Laura was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumour in 2018 and was given a prognosis of one year. Despite this devastating news, Laura embarked on an epic bucket list, ticking off wishes at a dizzying rate. From piloting a Royal Navy ship to reading the weather on TV with lockdown BBC weatherman star Owain Wyn Evans, from meeting Michelle Obama and taking tea at the Ritz with news broadcaster Sophie Raworth, to fishing alongside Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer.
Laura and her family even managed to coax Peter Kay out of retirement to perform sell-out ‘Doing it For Laura’ gigs at Manchester’s O2 Apollo in 2021.
More recently, with her family, Laura took part in the Manchester Pride marches and also completed the Great North Run. As usual, she garnered so much love and respect across social channels from far and wide, for her continued determination and resilience. We recently awarded, buoyed by the amount of supporter nominations, Laura with the Special Recognition Awards as part of our Celebrating You Awards (April ‘23).
Laura had a special place in the hearts of all our Young Ambassadors, themselves an integral part of The Brain Tumour Charity. They help us to raise awareness of brain tumours and are passionate about changing the future for those affected. Laura became key to the groups’ continued success.
Her loss is a fierce reminder of why we must move further, faster every day in the battle against brain tumours, so that other families do not have to endure this kind of heartbreak in the future.
We are committed to fighting for all those people whose lives are turned upside down by this devastating disease. We will continue to do this for everyone affected, and we will continue to do this to honour Laura.
She was unique and she was loved by so many.
Laura’s words to live by
In December 2022, Laura did an interview with LADbible in which she shared her story and her fantastic way of seeing the world. Quoting her wouldn’t do her justice, so here’s a video of her interview so you can hear her inspiring words exactly as she said them.