One morning in January, Max, who was 10 at the time, developed an excruciating headache. Lisa gave him some pain-killers but they didn’t seem to help and then suddenly, Max’s eyes began to roll into the back of his head. Trying not to panic, Lisa and her husband, Matt, called for an ambulance, which blue-lighted Max to their local hospital where he was taken straight for a CT scan.
Doctors were horrified to see a large tumour that was bleeding in Max’s brain and without skipping a beat, they called for a KIDS NTS critical-care ambulance to get Max to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for specialist care.
Time was of the essence and as soon as Max arrived at Birmingham Children’s Hospital he was rushed to theatre where surgeons began an eight-hour operation to remove as much of the tumour as they could see.
Max was placed in an induced coma while he made his initial recovery on the hospital’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and after just two days, he was woken up and moved to a ward to continue his recovery. It was while Max was here that Lisa decided she wanted to do something to raise funds that could help support the ward and teams that were helping her son.
Until that point Lisa, who usually only ran for pleasure and to keep fit, had never considered a distance challenge but her friends David Coe and Imre Tolgyesi — keen ultra-runners who also wanted to support the hospital in Max’s name — suggested the Birmingham Half Marathon. Lisa accepted the challenge.
Just 12 days after he first became ill, Max was well enough to return home, reunited with his little sister, Lucy, and with the whole family back under one roof, Lisa began training. Despite an ankle injury just a few weeks before the event Lisa completed the Great Birmingham Run in less than two hours.
There’s still a small amount of tumour present on Max’s brain so he remains under the care of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where he will continue to be monitored and receive any further treatment. However, Max has made an incredible recovery and was able to proudly cheer his mum on from the sidelines at the Great Birmingham Run.
Lisa said: “Every single member of staff at Birmingham Children’s Hospital was phenomenal and not only did they care for Max, they got us through a really tough time as a family. I wanted to say thank you but flowers and chocolates just weren’t going to cut it so I thought I’d raise funds instead, though I never thought I’d raise quite so much!
“The Great Birmingham Run was an amazing experience – the atmosphere was absolutely buzzing and really helped push me on when I needed it. I’m proud to have done it and proud to be able to support the hospital and other families going through what we did.”
Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re so grateful to Lisa for choosing to support our hospital and charity, especially after her family experienced such a scary ordeal.
“As well as smashing the half marathon, Lisa smashed her fundraising target, becoming our top fundraiser for the Great Birmingham Run event! Her incredible total will help us continue to do more for countless sick kids like Max.’”
If you’ve been inspired and would like to fundraise for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, or donate, please visit bch.org.uk or call 0121 333 8506.