This Father’s Day, our thoughts are with all the families who have been affected by brain tumours.
We are thinking about fathers who are living with a brain tumour, those who are dealing with the devastating diagnosis of a child and those who have experienced the heartbreak of losing a father or a child to this disease.
Father-of-four Frank Lee endured what “no parent should have to go through” when his teenage son died from a glioblastoma (GBM) in July 2019.
Frank James – known affectionately as 'little Frank' – was diagnosed at 13 after his father found him unconscious in his bedroom following a seizure.
Despite two surgeries, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the cancer claimed the life of the sports-loving schoolboy aged just 15.
Frank, 43, from Royal Wootton Bassett, said: “Father’s Day is always a hard time of year now, especially as it falls close to the day we lost little Frank on 22nd July.
“I remember the last one we shared together vividly because it was just before he became really ill. I remember him coming down the stairs and giving me a pint glass that says ‘World’s Best Dad’ on it. It was the last gift he ever gave me.”
After losing his eldest child, Frank began running as a way to deal with his grief. He has gone on to complete three marathons in aid of Brain Tumour Research, raising more than £22,000 together with relatives who form a running group called ‘Team Breed’.
They are now preparing to do the Great North Run, the Berlin Marathon, the Chicago Marathon and the New York Marathon within eight weeks, beginning in September.
Frank said: “Since losing my son, I’ve met countless families on social media going through the same devastation. I see the beginning of their journeys and the end of their journeys and unfortunately the ending tends to be the same. I push myself to keep running to stop other families suffering the way we have.”
Frank, who will spend Father’s Day with wife Joanna and their three daughters, Rebecca, 18, Josephine, 14, and Kathleen, seven, added: “I’m so lucky I’ve got my girls around me. And I’ll find a quiet moment to have a couple of drinks in the glass that Frank gave me and think about my boy, who was my best mate.”
To donate via Frank’s fundraiser visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/frank-lee-1718229829552
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