George was born on the 12th Dec 2009 along with his twin brother Austin. He has spent the last three and a half years getting the most out of the life of alittle one and shared most of his experiences with Austin and his older brother Oscar who is 6.

He loved all animals especially little ones and was very attached to many a cuddly toy. He was fun and silly and loud and PRICELESS and a favourite saying of his was "cuddle,cuddle,cuddle".

We used to ask him who loved him and he would always say Mummy and Daddy then asked why he would say "because I'm special". Which means he was also always right!

George was a normal three year old who enjoyed going to the farm to see all the animals, feeding the ducks and throwing
himself around soft play centres. At home there was a constant noise as the three boys used to run everywhere because that's
what you do when you're little and free.

Everything changed on Easter Monday 2013 when George first displayed a symptom of something being wrong. (Being unbalanced on the trampoline) Over the Easter break we took George to various doctors' appointments. He had a CT scan that revealed nothing but on 12th April 2013 he had an MRI scan that revealed an abnormality.  We were transfered to Addenbrooks that evening where we were shown the golf ball size tumour in the back of his brain.

At first we were told things looked really bad for George and that although it was possible for him to have surgery they still
didn't think the outcome would be good as the tumour had spread all down his spine encasing it. We had just received theworse news anyone would ever want to hear.

On the 17th April George had brain surgery to remove the
tumour which went as well as it could have. The recovery period was slow but during this time we were given the news that the Addenbrookes team thought there was a tiny glimmer of hope and that it would be possible to treat George with chemotherapy.  We were told it could take years given the extent of the disease but we took the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.

We were waiting for George to recover as much as he could from the initial surgery before he needed to have another operation to have a Hickman line fitted.

On the 30th April George was all ready for the operation when it was noticed he had a small infection in the back of his head
where the stitches were from the previous surgery. The
consultants needed to check the infection was not inside the
head so another CT scan was needed before an operation could go ahead.

That night after the CT scan we were told the really bad news
that the consultants were worried there had been development
within George and that the tumours hadspread even more. The
next day George had another MRI scan and we his parents were taken into a room to look at the MRI scan from two weeks
previous to compare the two. The comparison was shocking the tumour had spread to even more places within George's brain and had an even tighter grip on his spine. At this point we knew what they were going to say we had no options left the cancer was way too advanced, far too aggressive and untreatable and that we had two options to take him to
Keech Hospice and manage his pain or take him home and have the Keech nurses come to us. 

We brought him home.

From Monday 6th May the Keech team made it possible for us to have him at home and as far as we were concerned there wasn't a lot we could do for George now but what we could do was make him as happy and as comfortable as possible at home, with his family and all the things around him which he loved. Especially his brothers.

We have never really realised before the importance of raising money for charity until now but with Keech at our side we were able to have George here with us.  Sometimes they would drive out to see us twice a day and would always stay for as long as we needed them.  They would call us every morning and every night to see how George and we were doing. They arranged all his prescriptions and made it so we were spending quality time with George.

The night before George died one of the Keech nurses Judith came to our house and left and 1.30 am.  Nothing was too much trouble and they were only a phone call away. The next morning Louise from Keech along with Nina were at our house by 6.30 am and were with us right up to the moment George died and for some time afterwards.

If you could plan an ending then this would be your dream. George listened to every one of his favourite stories that morning read by James and I.  He listened tohis favourite story/song of the three billy goats gruff waiting until Nanny, Granddad and Auntie Nikki arrived to say there final goodbyes. Then with james and I holding his hands telling him over and over how much we loved him with all the courage I could find I said George it is ok to go and he did. He instantly
looked at peace and  the feeling we both got was one of relief. Relief that George was spared anymore pain, he was now free to become a beautiful twinkly star. 

We knew that very moment what we had done as a family bringing him home to die was the best decision we had ever made and for that I am truly proud of us.

So why to give to Keech and the Brain Tumour Charity?

Well because in what can only be described as a really traumatic chain of events, without Keech it would have been so much worse. That just doesn't bear thinking about and also for any any other family who find themselves in the same situation
needing Keech as we did.

Keech Hospice cares for adults and Children living with life limiting illnesses.Theyprovide care at your home or at there purpose built facility in Bedfordshire which Ican only describe as amazing.Without this Hospice we would of had to stay in
Hospital for the whole time with no option to have George at home with us. They provide support for whole familys years after a breavment and really look after siblings helping them come to terms with their loss.

Keech Hospice are only here because people go out of there way to fundraise and make a huge difference in society. For that our family will be eternally in there debt. helping to raise awareness of who they are and what they do is really the least we can do.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it inspires you to donate to Keech.

Now why give to The Brain Tumour Charity well...........

The only thing better than the care that Keech were able to give would have been able to diagnose and treat George.

This would have helped not only George but the other 9000 plus adults and children who get diagnosed each year.

500 of these will be children.  25% of which will die, that's 1
every 3 days.

Brain Tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.  That's 5,000 people every year. And the research is chronically underfunded at less than 2% of the total research pot.

The Brain Tumour Charity is the UK's leading and largest dedicated funder of brain tumour research as well as raising awareness through their HeadSmart campaign.

So we believe that this is why it is every bit as important to support this cause as well as the people who are there for you after diagnosis.

Many thanks
James, Michelle, Oscar, Austin and especially George.
X X X X X