A Ramsgate family has completed a climb of the highest mountain peak in southern Britain to raise funds for The Brain Tumour Charity.
Maintenance supervisor Andy Turner, wife Amanda and their six year old son Buddy travelled to Wales to tackle Pen Y Fan, with a peak 886 metres above sea-level, last Saturday (April 27).
The family chose the charity after Andy had to undergo operations last January and October to stop fluid on the brain from killing him and then to have a benign tumour removed.
Andy began suffering crippling headaches in around June 2022. In December of that year Amanda took her husband to A&E but the couple were directed back to their GP. They asked for a scan but Andy was told to take Naproxen and if headache didn’t go in two weeks to return to the doctor and get an eye test in the meantime.
Two weeks later Andy collapsed while working at the University of Kent. He was finally diagnosed with the brain tumour in January 2023 and the operations followed.
Andy, who celebrates his 43rd birthday today, has since made a full recovery.
The family took on the challenge to raise funds for the Brain Tumour Charity in recognition of Andy’s battle but also in memory of four year old Brooklyn Bain, who attended the same school as Buddy but sadly passed away in January due to an aggressive brain tumour.
The fundraising is also to recognise someone close to the family who is currently going through treatment for a brain tumour and cancer and in memory of Amanda’s sister who passed away in July 2023 to cancer which spread to her brain.
Andy, Amanda and Buddy reached the Pen Y Fan summit in one hour and 55 minutes and took one hour to climb back down.
Amanda said: “It was very hard work in a snow blizzard and in that weather felt never ending. When we started off it was raining and then it started snowing as we went up and just got harder.
“Visibility was about 20 yards and the gusts were knocking us off our feet at times but we weren’t giving up as it was raising money for an amazing charity.”
Donations can still be made to the fundraising page.
