The families of two children lost to brain tumours will lead a Walk of Hope on Saturday 30th September to help find a cure for the disease.
The bereaved families of Aaron Wharton, seven, and Ella McCreadie, 13, have both set up Fundraising Groups, called Aaron’s Army and Ella’s Army. They are joining forces to host our Walk of Hope in Ellesmere, Shropshire.
Aaron was diagnosed with an anaplastic ependymoma in April 2020, at the age of four. Despite numerous surgeries, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the cancer kept returning. Aaron passed away on Sunday 9th April this year.
Heartbreakingly, Ella passed away in her sleep in December 2022. It was only later when they received the coroner’s report that her parents, Sophie Penrose and Alastair McCreadie, learnt their beloved eldest child had suffered a haemorrhage caused by a high-grade diffuse midline glioma. Her shocked parents said there was no warning of her condition as she had no symptoms at all.
The two heartbroken families were introduced to each other through Brain Tumour Research after Aaron’s mum Nicola has already identified Ellesmere, where Ella’s family lives, as the location for a Walk of Hope. They soon discovered other coincidences which convinced them their lost children had brought them together.
Nicola said: “When we were choosing names before our baby was born, Aaron was going to be called Ella if he’d been a girl and when I visited Ellesmere to check it out for the walk, there was a bench by the lake with Aaron’s initials AW carved into it.”
Sophie said: “Our paths were meant to have crossed. I hope we can raise lots of money and help bring hope to families in the future whose loved ones are diagnosed with brain tumours.”