Harry’s story
Harry Baker had a seizure out of the blue and was subsequently faced with the terrifying news that he had a brain tumour. For both him and his family having expert support through such a difficult time was priceless. His mum Kathryn shared their story.
On 28th December 2023 our 17 year old son, Harry, had a full blown seizure completely out of the blue. During which he banged his head, cut his brow and lost consciousness for several hours.
Due to the blow on his head they did a CT scan that night in A&E, and discovered the golf ball sized tumour and substantial swelling in his brain which had caused the seizure.
When the doctor at Gloucester Royal showed us what they had found it felt like the bottom fell out of our world. We were shocked, stunned and terrified about what this meant.
Harry and I spent several nights in Gloucester hospital, where Harry had more scans, CT and full body MRI, to check that there were no secondary tumours in other areas of his body. Then, on New Year’s Eve, Harry was allowed to come home whilst we waited for next steps from the neurological team at Bristol Southmead Hospital.
Within a few days we were given an appointment with the specialist and told that it looked like a grade 2 meningioma and that they would operate to remove the tumour on 11th January.
The two weeks around his surgery were taken up with pre-op checks, MRIs, occupational therapist appointments….up and down to Southmead almost every other day. It was during these visits that the team at Southmead Hospital put us in touch with Brain Tumour Support.
The charity have been great at providing us with a sense of strength and solidarity during this difficult time.
Having someone to talk to who completely understood the impact of Harry’s diagnosis was priceless.
Thankfully, Harry had a successful surgery that day and has recuperated amazingly. No further treatment was needed at that time. He now has regular MRI’s, and we have just received the results from his latest with huge relief that it remains clear.
Now we would really like to give something back to Brain Tumour Support so that they can continue to help others in similar and often worse situations.
Kathryn Baker | November 2024
Helping others
To raise funds, Harry’s family are holding a special event on Saturday 9 November in Chalford, Gloucestershire. As well as a vintage and pre-loved clothing sale there will be a range of other gifts for sale along with coffee and cake.
A fundraiser has also been set up for direct donations to be made: https://www.justgiving.com/page/kathryn-baker-1729014751212
