Family shares heartbreak as 'active' son's simple headache was lethal illness

Ethan Treharne's parents initially thought their lad was simply bushed and dehydrated from the outdoor activities

A heartbroken mum has shared the harrowing acquisition of her son's 'barbaric' attraction for a brain tumour, which tragically led to his decease astatine conscionable 17. Nikki Treharne, 53, revealed however Ethan's unwellness and consequent passing near her household shattered.

She present advocates for accrued consciousness and improved treatments for the disease, the starring origin of crab deaths successful children and adults nether 40. Ethan's wellness issues came arsenic a daze erstwhile helium returned from a Duke of Edinburgh play with a headache astatine property 15.

Nikki and her hubby Justin initially thought their lad was simply bushed and dehydrated from the outdoor activities. However, his information worsened 2 days later.

"Like galore radical I'm definite would say, we were conscionable a regular household of five," Nikki recalls. "We were decidedly blessed to person specified blessed and steadfast children up until this point. "

Ethan had hardly suffered a cold. Life was engaged with galore sporting commitments. He played academy hoops and shot and was truthful active, reports Gloucestershire Live.

He had nary symptoms astatine each until 1 Monday helium complained of a headache. I was astatine enactment 2 days aboriginal connected the Wednesday erstwhile my hubby called maine to accidental not to interest but Ethan had messaged him from schoolhouse to accidental 'Dad I request a doctor's appointment, I can't find my words and my look has dropped'.

"The GP sent him consecutive to A&E for a scan which happened astatine 3.30pm connected the Thursday. By 5.30pm we were backmost successful infirmary aft they discovered a wide successful his close frontal lobe and they were preparing to bluish airy him by ambulance to Southampton for exigency surgery."

Ethan was diagnosed with a glioblastoma tumour, an highly assertive benignant of cancer. The household was reeling from the shock, but adjacent much devastating quality followed.

Just 2 weeks post-surgery, doctors informed them that the tumour was people 4 and incurable. "We were blindly conscionable going on with household beingness wholly unaware that this deadly slayer was lurking successful his head," said Nikki.

"To accidental we were shell-shocked and this was retired of the bluish is an understatement. We conscionable went into afloat unaccepting mode. We continued to combat and person anticipation until the end, arsenic Ethan did, our inspiration. He was 15 erstwhile helium was diagnosed, conscionable 2 months into his last twelvemonth of secondary school."

The attraction travel was incredibly tough; Ethan endured 3 craniotomies, remaining awake during the past one. His attraction regimen included chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and steroids, which took a dense toll connected him.

"I deliberation it helped that helium was truthful acceptable and bounced backmost good and was truthful brave," his parent reflected. "The modular of care, chemotherapy and radiotherapy that followed though was barbaric and exhausting.

"It's truthful outdated, does much harm than bully and didn't connection immoderate accidental of a cure but what enactment did we have?"

Ethan, who suffers from regular seizures, has had his state snatched distant astatine his prime, on with experiencing hairsbreadth nonaccomplishment and sickness.

"I deliberation 1 of the worst drugs are steroids. They person to instrumentality them to relieve the swelling and symptoms but they travel with truthful galore atrocious broadside effects specified arsenic value gain, temper swings, bladed stretched tegument and a satellite look that you hardly recognise the idiosyncratic they were. "Ethan endured further chemos and immunotherapies, repurposed medicine and alternate treatments. We travelled to Germany to entree this arsenic galore were not disposable owed to Ethan being nether 18."

Tragically, Ethan passed distant astatine conscionable 17-years-old, leaving Nikki and her household heartbroken. She helped found The Angel Mums, a enactment radical for those who person mislaid a kid to a encephalon tumour. Families besides fundraise with the extremity of revolutionising encephalon crab attraction and attraction successful the UK. "No genitor volition ever get implicit the nonaccomplishment of a kid - it's unfathomable," Nikki says. "I often deliberation erstwhile radical accidental to maine 'I don't cognize however you bash it, I wouldn't survive', that I truly don't person a choice. I besides person 2 different children that request me.

"You don't past either - the idiosyncratic I was earlier is gone. I americium everlastingly changed arsenic Ethan is everlastingly 17.

"We are present conscionable trying to navigate this caller beingness without Ethan and doing our champion to honour and retrieve him with our fundraising and helping others arsenic helium would person wished.

"It gives america intent and keeps america engaged and distracted from the pain. I was 1 of the 8 archetypal mums who formed The Angel Mums. A batch of america had met on our travel of warring for We knew each different from Facebook groups wherever we discussed attraction options for our children's lives. "

The Angels Mums radical provides immense enactment to each other.

"No 1 tin comprehend the nonaccomplishment of a kid unless you person experienced it. We retrieve each the things that others don't, which impact us, enactment each different connected important dates and vent astir things others wouldn't understand."

The radical has formed an unbreakable bond, with Nikki saying: "We besides consciousness similar we tin laughter unneurotic without judgement and conscionable beryllium ourselves and outcry unneurotic erstwhile we request to, arsenic we're often putting connected a beforehand and a brave face. "

Alongside their fundraising efforts, Nikki is determined to radiance a airy connected the shocking world of encephalon tumours. "I privation radical knew that encephalon tumours are the biggest slayer of children and the nether 40s, yet they person the lowest allocation of funding," she stresses. "This needs to alteration arsenic attraction has not changed successful implicit 30 years.

The attraction is old, barbaric and has lone has a 7% accidental of doing anything. So overmuch advancement has been made with different cancers: each of them are a devastating diagnosis but different cancers similar bosom and humor crab person options and anticipation from the advancements they person made done research.

"We should beryllium fixed the accidental to prevention frozen insubstantial arsenic modular during country arsenic this is what is needed for immunotherapy. I anticipation each we are doing is going to alteration the attraction options for those who volition look this diagnosis and however it is delivered. I privation that anticipation for others arsenic we ne'er had any."

To enactment Nikki and the Angel Mums, sojourn their JustGiving leafage successful assistance of the Tessa Jowell Foundation: https://www.justgiving.com/page/angelmums2024.