This Saturday (22nd March), runners doing the Saltwell Park Run in Gateshead will, for the 10th year running, be invited to wear green in memory of Lorna Atkinson (pictured above right) who died, aged 69, from a glioblastoma brain tumour on 25th March 2016.
Lorna had been diagnosed 18 months earlier after her grown-up daughters, Louise (pictured below left) and Lisa (below right), noticed she was constantly repeating herself, forgetting words for simple things and becoming increasingly confused.
She underwent surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy and, for a time, went back to her normal happy, chatty self, enjoying spending time with family and friends.
Lisa said: “Dad died very suddenly in 2009 from a heart attack, which was a massive shock to us all. In many respects, the way he went was so much better, as he passed away being the same person we had always known him to be. Mam’s brain tumour changed everything about her; her personality, her appearance, her behaviour. She had changed so much that she was barely recognisable as the same person as before. Brain cancer is so cruel.”
Lisa and Louise had already started supporting Brain Tumour Research before their mother passed away, and the first time the Saltwell Park Run took place with The Lorn's Legacy inspired by Lorna’s brain tumour battle, was already in the calendar for early April 2016. Sadly, she passed away just two weeks earlier.
Shocked at how little was allocated to research into brain tumours, the sisters set up a Fundraising Group, The Lorn’s Legacy, which has raised £25,000 to date through the annual Park Run.
Good luck to everyone running this 10th Park Run for The Lorn's Legacy and we hope there will be lots of people wearing green – Lorna’s favourite colour. After the 5km event, runners will be invited to the café in Saltwell Park for refreshments, including home-baked cakes, and the option to support the raffle and/or make a charity donation.
You can mark the ninth anniversary of Lorna’s death with a donation to The Lorn’s Legacy to continue funding vital research at our Research Centres of Excellence.
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