It’s Brain Tumour Awareness Week.
A year ago I knew nothing about brain tumours, but I was ten agonising days away from finding out.

I was working in my office when Billy bought me this balloon. “That’s me at school, Mummy.” 🧵 Billy’s life was all night terrors, bad tempers and tears. He looked washed out. He was too weak to walk anywhere. He had no energy. He didn’t want to leave the house. He would wake up crying and go to bed worrying about school.

DIPG is… 1/2

DIPG is being ignored by your GP. “Your son does not have a brain tumour.” Because he’s never heard of it. Because it’s not well known.
DIPG is trick or treating but not being able to get to the end of the street before your beautiful boy, who loves Halloween the very most, sits down in tears on the pavement, “I can’t walk anymore,” his little orange bucket with hardly any sweets in.

On the last day of #braintumourawarenessmonth, at 11:10 this morning Billy the Brave finally found his peace. He should never have had to fight this battle, but fight he did, and so valiantly right up until his very last breath. This is how we will remember him, and now he has gained his superhero wings for real. Fly high, Billy the Brave, our Billy, William Freddie Thomas Thompson.

We’re coming to the end of #braintumourawarenessmonth and I wanted to let you know a bit more about DIPG.

DIPG is short for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. It completely ravages its victims - mostly all young children like Billy. DIPG is a highly aggressive and difficult to treat paediatric brain tumour. It is often considered the worst type of cancer in existence.

Adults have been diagnosed with DIPG, but it’s rare. Most often kids are aged 5-9.