A South Holland mum is taking to the saddle to raise funds in honour of her dad who has a brain tumour.
Jeff Stancer (60) thought he may have the ‘seasonal blues’ when he felt below par last autumn.
Fit and active, Jeff went to the gym three or four times a week and was looking forward to winding down from his home maintenance business in Long Sutton where he lives with his wife Lisa.
But he was rushed to hospital in September last year after suffering a seizure.
“He and mum had planned to spend more time away in their touring caravan ahead of him turning 60. He was even going to fit the kitchen in the house my husband George and I are building before stepping back from work,” said his daughter Ellie Merrison (30), of Holbeach.
“By the time I got to the house, the ambulance had already taken him to hospital and I immediately knew we were facing something serious,” she added.
Jeff had another seizure at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, while undergoing a CT scan. He had also fractured his spine and shoulder when he fell at his home.
Scans revealed a mass on his brain and he was referred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
“Dad has always been a real family man and worked incredibly hard all his life,” said Ellie. “The first thing we noticed was that he became quieter and more withdrawn, which was completely unlike him.
“At first, we wondered whether it could be seasonal depression because he had suffered with that before, but something didn’t feel right.
“He cancelled a caravan holiday, stopped wanting music on while he worked on his motorbikes and didn’t seem himself.
“Then one night mum woke up around 3am to dad falling out of bed and going into a tonic-clonic seizure which lasted 29 minutes.”
An MRI scan revealed a glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer, on the front left side of his brain and it was the size of a tennis ball.
“This was a really hard pill to swallow because dad was also so physically fit and healthy. My immediate fear was how long he had left. I had never personally known anyone with glioblastoma, so straight away you start researching,” said Ellie. Jeff had surgery at Addenbrooke’s and 80 per cent of the tumour was removed followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but the tumour started re-growing.
The family was told in February that his prognosis had dropped from 18 months to just six months.
“I’ve rarely seen my dad cry in my whole life, but he cried when he was told the treatment hadn’t worked,” said Ellie.
She had to tell her two children Harley (10) and Elva-Mae (6) about what was happening to their adored grandad.
“They saw him go from the most physically fit man to one who shuffles along with a walking frame. They are both so patient and help him with his words as his speech has been hugely affected,” said Ellie, who is an only child.
She is raising money for Brain Tumour Research and has pledged to cycle 125 miles during the course of the month.
The charity has a ‘200k in May Your Way’ challenge currently running.
“This is so far out of my comfort zone,” she said.
“I’m not a fitness freak and already have arthritis in my hips, so it hurts. But I’m doing it for my dad so I will complete it.”
Ellie home-schools both children and also helps run the family’s two businesses, GT Agricultural Engineers and also GT Motorsport Components. Both children race go-karts at championship level. Their dad also raced all over the world before coaching them.
Ellie has already raised £1,130 and covered 75 of the 125-mile challenge.
Her page is: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ellie1774641802867 or search the site for Ellie Merrison and Brain Tumour Research.
