A memorial has been held to remember the life of beloved husband and father-of-three Sam Bravo-Hibberd, as well celebrate his incredible legacy that will fund life-saving research.
Sam, from Peterborough, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM) in September 2023, two months after his third child, Alejandria, was born, and given a devastating prognosis of just eight to 12 weeks. It followed a year of experiencing personality changes, headaches, taste auras and confusion.
Sam underwent a debulking surgery and radiotherapy, and his wife, Mauricee, was fundraising for private treatment. But Sam continued to deteriorate and, tragically, he passed away on 4th February 2024, aged just 34.
More than 120 people, including Hugh Adams, our Head of Stakeholder Relations, joined Mauricee, and their three children – Theo, 14, Gabriel, three, and Alejandria, eight months – at Orton Hall on Sunday 17th March in honour of the devoted family man.
Mauricee said: “It was an amazing day. It started off raining and dark but just as we started Sam’s memorial, the sun began to shine. Then during the tribute, Alejandria shouted out her first word – ‘Dada!’. Sam and I had a bet on what her first word would be – I’m happy he won that one. To top it off, that afternoon I had a flurry of messages saying that Sam’s beloved team, Manchester United, had won their match. Everyone said it was Sam’s doing. It really felt like he was with us.”
Since his death, Mauricee has made a donation to Brain Tumour Research in Sam’s name to fund 100 days of next generation genome sequencing at our Research Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London.
Mauricee said: “If Sam was diagnosed earlier things might have been different and he might still be with us now. I’m hoping that this research will change the fate of brain tumour patients and allow them to spend more time with their loved ones. More importantly, the hope is that analysing the entire genetic code of brain tumour patients can help deliver more effective treatment and a better prognosis.”
Mauricee will visit our Centre at Queen Mary to place a tile on the Wall of Hope on the couple’s wedding anniversary next month, before visiting our other three Centres to place tiles throughout the year. She remains committed to raising further funds for Brain Tumour Research in Sam’s honour.
Mauricee said: “I want to keep Sam’s story alive and the wonderful person that he was. There will forever be an excruciating void in me that will never be filled, only eased by our beautiful memories.”
Following the memorial, Hugh Adams remembered Sam at our event at Westminster to launch our manifesto, It is time to do things differently, last week.
Hugh said: “We thought it would be appropriate to remember Sam to remind all of those in attendance as to why Brain Tumour Research does what it does and that for us the patient and their family will always be at the centre of what we do.”
You can help make a difference and stop brain tumours devastating families by making a donation, fundraising, or campaigning with us.
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