Laura Critchley, 40, from Swinton in South Yorkshire, was mid-way through a Teams meeting in May when she suddenly became confused and unable to speak. She was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, where scans revealed multiple brain tumours initially thought to be terminal cancer. Further tests at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital ruled this out and pointed to a possible genetic cause. Laura, who is the Director of SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities) of a multi academy trust, now faces surgery to remove several tumours. Her partner, Lee Vaughan, 50, is taking part in Brain Tumour Research’s 99 Miles in November challenge in her honour.
Here is Laura’s story, as told by her partner Lee…
If you asked Laura’s friends or colleagues to describe her, they would tell you she has two sides. At work she is focused and dedicated, part of the leadership team in an academy trust and deeply committed to achieving the best outcomes for children with special educational needs. With friends she is warm, outgoing and the life of any party, the first to buy the shots and the last to leave the dancefloor. She loves camping, travelling and spending time outdoors. A few years ago, she trained for the London Marathon until a stress fracture in her foot forced her to stop.
On 13 May 2025, Laura was presenting online when she paused mid-sentence and struggled to find her words.
A colleague stepped in to end the meeting and helped her downstairs, but in the car park Laura could not remember how to start her car or where she lived. Her colleague drove her to her mum’s house, and I got the call to come straight over. By the time I arrived, she was still herself in some ways, but she was becoming more confused.
Paramedics suspected a stroke and took her under blue lights to Doncaster Royal Infirmary. A stroke nurse sent her for a CT scan, which showed something abnormal but not a stroke. While waiting in A&E she suffered two major seizures and was rushed into resus. She was stabilised overnight, and the next morning we were told to prepare for the worst. Doctors believed it was Grade 3 terminal brain cancer.
For two weeks we lived with that diagnosis until the team at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital reviewed the scans and said they did not believe it was cancer. They suspected a genetic condition such as neurofibromatosis type 1 or 2 and referred us to genetics, although a clerical error delayed the appointment by six weeks.
Genetics ruled out both NF1 and NF2 due to the lack of other characteristic markers but still suspected the cause to be genetic. Genomic testing was therefore carried out to look for several common markers linked to meningiomas; these however also came back negative.
A full MRI revealed up to eight tumours, seven on the left side of her brain, which controls speech, and one deep in the centre between the hemispheres.
At first, the plan was to monitor things with regular MRIs, but because Laura is young and otherwise healthy, the specialists decided it was safer to operate. The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday 19 November and aims to remove the seven accessible tumours and analyse them to understand what is causing their growth.
Since then, life has been on hold. We cancelled our family holiday because we couldn’t get travel insurance without a confirmed diagnosis. Laura has been on medication to control swelling and seizures. Most days she seems almost herself, but fatigue creeps in as the day goes on and she starts to search for words. I notice small signs, like faster blinking and pauses, that tell me she is getting tired.
We have tried to keep things steady for our two boys, Brody and Fraser. We explained her illness using football analogies: when a player has a clash of heads, they have to stop to let the brain heal. It is like that with Mummy.
They know she will be having surgery and that she will be in hospital for a while. Brody, who is 10, has already asked the hardest questions, wondering if she will be all right or if she might die. It is heartbreaking, but they have coped better than we ever expected.
I have always looked at situations pragmatically. I trust the experts and focus on what we can control. I told Laura’s mum – who had returned from a holiday abroad – that when you get on a plane, you do not question the engineers or pilots who have trained for years; you trust them. It is the same with Laura’s surgeons and medical team. They do this every day, and I believe she will come out stronger than before.
Laura was the one who introduced me to Brain Tumour Research. She tagged me in a Facebook post about the 99 Miles in November challenge and suggested I use my running to raise money. I set a £150 target, and thanks to the generosity of family, friends and colleagues, we have raised nearly £2,000.
One day of research at a Centre of Excellence costs £2,740. That is the next goal.
We still don’t know if Laura’s condition is genetic, and if it is, our sons could each have a 50% chance of inheriting it. That thought keeps me going every time I lace up my running shoes.
Lee Vaughan
October 2025
One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been inspired by Laura’s story, you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure.
