When Ollie Knight, 29, from Gloucestershire, was diagnosed with a brain tumour, his family’s world changed overnight. What began as subtle vision problems during the COVID-19 lockdown led to the discovery of an astrocytoma the size of a satsuma. Ollie faced brain surgery, without his family by his side, due to restrictions. But now, six years on, as he plans his wedding, his is a story of hope.
Here is Ollie’s story, as told by his mum Heidi…
Ollie has always been driven, sporty and determined. At 24, he was living in St Albans and working as a consultant in London, he was incredibly fit, always running, always active. So, when he mentioned feeling giddy on a run one day and had to sit down, he didn’t think much of it. A runner passing by even stopped to check he was okay. Ollie laughed it off and carried on. Looking back, that was the first red flag.
He started saying his vision would ‘go funny’ sometimes. He struggled to read small print even something as simple as the writing on a shampoo bottle. But during that time, our family was already under enormous stress because my husband, Roger, had suffered a stroke. Our focus was on his recovery. Ollie didn’t want to worry us, and he convinced himself it was exhaustion.
Then COVID-19 hit. Like everyone else, Ollie was isolated, working from home with his now fiancée Laura, unable to commute or run in the way he used to. He went to the GP and he was referred for cognitive behavioural therapy. He was told it was likely anxiety, the impact of lockdown, the stress of everything going on. At that time, so many people were struggling mentally that it didn’t seem unusual. A counsellor encouraged him to be calmer, to manage what they believed were nerves.
But deep down, something wasn’t right.
One day, in April 2021, I got a phone call from Laura. She was in an ambulance with Ollie. She said doctors thought he might be having a stroke.
I can’t describe that feeling. It was like the ground disappeared beneath me. We were still dealing with Roger’s stroke recovery, and now this.
At Luton and Dunstable Hospital, a CT scan revealed something on Ollie’s brain. The medical team at Luton and Dunstable Hospital said, “they’ve found something.” That word ‘something’ was terrifying. He was transferred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, London.
The scan showed a tumour the size of a satsuma. I remember thinking: how can something that big be there without us knowing?
But brain tumours are cruel like that, the symptoms are often so ordinary. Headaches. Vision changes. Tiredness. Things you’d never immediately think were life-threatening.
The surgeons told us Ollie needed a six-hour awake craniotomy. The risks were enormous - speech loss, paralysis, even death. But without surgery, he could die anyway. As parents, how do you process that?
Because of COVID-19, we couldn’t even sit with him the night before. We couldn’t hold his hand. So instead, we chatted on Zoom and wrote emails. Roger was heartbroken. He said: “what if this is the last thing he ever reads from me?” I told him that was exactly why he had to write it. Ollie still has those emails now. He says he reads them when he needs strength.
Surgeons removed 80% of the tumour, leaving 20% behind. We were relieved but the journey was far from over. Three days after he came home, Ollie went upstairs saying he felt sick. Then I heard him cry out. I ran up and he was having a full tonic-clonic seizure. It was terrifying. We called an ambulance and tried to keep him conscious until help arrived.
He was taken to hospital and put on stronger anti-seizure medication. From that moment, life changed again. The independence he’d always had, especially driving, was gone..
He had three-monthly scans, then six-monthly. Every scan brought anxiety. Every appointment brought fear of what they might say.
When we received the diagnosis of grade 2 astrocytoma, it was devastating. Ollie went through radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He lost some of his hair, which was hard for someone so young and active, but he handled it with quiet strength. And slowly, his hair grew back.
Determined not to let the tumour define him, Ollie changed career direction. He completed a master’s degree in Sports Performance Analysis at the University of Gloucestershire and achieved the highest grade in the entire university that year. I cannot describe how proud we were.
During his placement at Bristol City Football Club, he suffered another seizure on the pitch. Thankfully, there were trained coaches and first aiders there. Once again, he lost his driving licence. Another setback. But Ollie kept going.
Today, he is working for English Heritage as a Business Intelligence Executive. He hasn’t had further seizures or vision problems, and he and Laura are getting married in June. Laura has been an absolute rock throughout, by his side every single step.
There was a time when I truly believed I might lose my son either on the operating table or to a life severely limited by damage. Instead, his story has become one of resilience and hope.
Ollie is still living with a brain tumour, but it has not stopped him living a full, meaningful life.
I’m walking the Ultra challenge around Bath. I’ve previously walked 50k with Ollie and Laura and together we raised £2,000, but this challenge feels different; I am doing this on my own. It’s about giving back, raising awareness and funding research so outcomes improve.
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer. That has to change.
If I could say anything to someone receiving a brain tumour diagnosis today, it would be this: trust your doctors. Trust the process. Stay hopeful. There were moments we felt completely helpless, but there can still be light and life beyond diagnosis.
Heidi Knight
March 2026
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 Ollie’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.
