Pat, who is living with a brain tumour, chose to turn her personal challenge into a meaningful fundraiser for brainstrust. Completing a sponsored swim in an impressive 48 minutes, she raised an outstanding £1,138.75! Her achievement is a powerful reflection of resilience and determination and has also helped open up important conversations around brain tumours and awareness.
In Pat’s own words;
“Following my diagnosis of a meningioma in 2023, a craniotomy, 33 sessions of radiotherapy, and all the side effects of the radiotherapy and the drugs, I set myself a task to get back to things I love doing, swimming being one of them.
January 2025 I set myself a personal challenge that was to be able to swim 100 lengths (2000m) by Christmas; I engaged help from my husband Chris as I wasn’t allowed to swim on my own. I then wanted to make use of my challenge and it wasn’t hard to choose to raise money for brainstrust, as they had supported me through all the treatment, the recovery phase and are still there with their support.
On the day of my sponsored swim I felt nervous but excited. But the best moment was when I had finished and realised that I had achieved a personal best time, 48 minutes for my swim. I have had people approached me saying that I look well, that they never of guessed that I had a brain tumour, it opens up a conversation to encourage people to talk about brain tumours and to donate to brainstrust.
To anybody who is thinking of doing a challenge to raise money for brainstrust, my answer is don’t think about it, JUST DO IT!! The support you get from the team at brainstrust will help you on your way.”
Pat’s incredible achievement is about so much more than completing 100 lengths, it’s a story of courage, determination and hope. By sharing her journey so openly, she has not only raised vital funds for brainstrust, but has also helped shine a light on the realities of living with a brain tumour and the importance of support along the way.
We are enormously grateful to Pat for her amazing fundraising efforts and for inspiring others to challenge themselves, start conversations and help ensure that nobody faces a brain tumour diagnosis alone.
Feeling inspired by Pat’s story? Whether it’s a sponsored challenge, community event, bake sale or something completely unique, every fundraiser helps brainstrust continue supporting people affected by a brain tumour diagnosis. If you’re thinking about fundraising for brainstrust, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with the fundraising team at fundraising@brainstrust.org.uk, we’ll support you every step of the way.
