BRAIN TUMOUR AWARENESS JACKFEST

Hello,

Please read our story behind Jackfest and The Brain Tumour Charity. My name is Deborah and I am a proud mom of a wonderful young man named Jack. Where do I begin?! I guess a bit of background…

From the age of 3 it was just us. Jack is now 28 and has been my carer for all of those years. We have never had any help from anyone other than my mom and it has been really hard on Jack. Despite this, he has always been the most caring, considerate and loving person I have ever met!

Now it is my turn to try and help Jack.

Back in May 2023, Jack was involved in a serious car accident. He was taken by ambulance to A&E majors for various scans of his injuries. Results from the CT scan came back clear for any internal injuries caused by the crash, however, it did show a mass in the centre of his brain. It was later confirmed to be a brain tumour in the pineal gland. This was a massive shock to us all as Jack was a perfectly normal and healthy 27 year old. We could not believe what we were hearing. Without him being involved in that car accident and being taken to hospital for scans we would never have known it was there until it was too late.

After numerous MRI scans and tests over a few months, the doctors decided Jack needed brain surgery in an attempt to remove the tumour. It was the longest ten and a half hours of my life. When the surgery had finished we were informed there had been some complications. During surgery, Jack had taken a sudden change for the worse more than once and they almost lost him on the table. As a result of this, the surgeon decided it was safest to stop the procedure and leave the remainder of the tumour behind, considering alternative treatments.

When we were allowed to see Jack in the High Dependency Unit he was attached to all sorts of machines and had 27 staples down the back of his head. My baby. My son. My only child. My entire world was on that bed and he looked so vulnerable. I have never had SO many emotions run through my body all at once and I felt SO HELPLESS! As a mom and a parent, when they fall you pick them up, rub them down, kiss it better, look after them, nurture them and protect them. I felt hopeless and useless not being able to do anything other than talk to him.

Now Jack has made a full recovery from his brain surgery he is considering alternate treatment options to remove the remainder of the brain tumour. At present we are playing the waiting game with the uncertainty of what is to come.

To look at Jack you would not think there is anything was wrong and that is the problem with hidden illnesses. No one believes you could have a medical condition that needs to be treated, especially if like Jack you are the kind of person to play it down and avoid people always asking “are you alright” all of the time.

Jack is aware of where he is with his health and is incredibly positive. He is still living life full on and back to being the man I remember before the car accident. He is still my Jack, my wonderful and caring son ❤️

Jack has a lovely girlfriend, Hannah, who has stuck by his side and supported him throughout the many ups and downs. Their love for each other has helped Jack to be strong and remain positive. Some say that love is the best non medical medicine and they are stronger than ever ❤️

I am asking for people to be aware of brain tumours and to please donate. The money raised will go towards Jack’s treatment as the brain tumour is still there and needs further medical care and attention. The NHS is overwhelmed and we are looking at private healthcare options to get treatment moving along faster. Some of the money raised will also be donated to the wonderful Brain Tumour Charity to help them increase more awareness and research into different treatments as there are over 120 different types of brain tumours. The amount of people being diagnosed with a brain tumour each day is increasing, specifically in children and young adults.

Jackfest is my way of feeling like I am doing something as a mom to help my son and to help other children, parents and families of those affected by this horrible, horrible illness. We are hoping to build awareness of brain tumours as it is an area of untold trauma that you only really hear about once it affects you personally. We want this to change by raising money to help funding to find more cures and to finance treatments.

Please help us by donating as much as you can and please look after those you love every minute of every day... Our children are our most precious gift.

Thank you for reading our story and if you have donted, thank you so much. Every penny could help save someone living with a brain tumor ❤️