Oxfordshire woman who had to learn to walk and talk again after brain tumour now fundraising for charity
Kristel O'Rourke is fundraising for charity Brain Tumour Research.
Last updated 14th May 2024
An Oxfordshire woman is taking on a month long challenge four decades after being diagnosed with a brain tumour and having to relearn how to walk and talk.
Kristel O’Rourke from Thame was just four years old when doctors told her family ‘she could be ambidextrous’ as she switched from using her right hand to her left.
Following a health check before she was due to start primary school, Kristel, was sent to hospital after a nurse found a shadow behind her eye. She also developed a change in her gait.
Despite life-saving surgery, Kristel, 45, has been left with long-term damage including, limited mobility on one side and no peripheral vision.
She was diagnosed with a low-grade astrocytoma and after a decade of stable scans was given the all-clear.
Kristel said: “I was diagnosed at such a young age that I didn’t know any different. I had surgery in the May and started school in September after having to learn to move my body and communicate with speech again. My first word was no, which became my reply to everything. I feel lucky that I needed no further treatment and was surrounded by a network of professionals who helped me get to where I am today.”
Kristel is sharing her story to help raise awareness of brain tumours. She wasn't able to take part in the Brain Tumour Research 15th anniversary Run 15, but she's taking on her own challenge to cycle 200 kilometres in May. Because of her mobility issues she'll be going that on her static exercise bike.
The receptionist says: “I’ll never know if I was going to be any good at running, because of the nerve and muscle damage caused by the tumour, leaving my entire right side being weak ever since.
“However, I will tailor the challenge to something I can do. I may do a bit of extra walking, I'll definitely use Zumba and I'll dust off my exercise bike to clock up the miles.”
One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour yet, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.
She added: “Decades later, there is still a lack of treatment options for brain tumour patient’s when compared with some other cancers. I was lucky. I've lived a normal life after my brain tumour. Others don't get these chances. Any donations towards research to eradicate this indiscriminate disease will be a huge help.”
Katrina Jones, head of community fundraising at Brain Tumour Research, said: “It’s great to hear stories of hope like Kristel’s, because for far too many patients the outcome is very different. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer but so often they are placed in the too difficult to deal with pile and not seen as a research priority. We’re determined to change this but we can’t do it alone. We’re really grateful to Kristel for her support and wish her the best of luck with her challenge.”
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and 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. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.