November 15, 2017 3.05 pm This story is over 76 months old

Lincolnshire couple raise £153k in memory of daughter who died from brain tumour

The couple began fundraising for the trust after Emma-Jayne died of an inoperable brain tumour in 1998.
(L-R) Shailendra Achawal, consultant neurosurgeon and clinical lead, consultant neurosurgeon Chittoor Rajaraman, Ruth and Tony Knowles, trust chairman Terry Moran and chief biomedical scientist Catherine Hills.

A couple from Sutton-on-Sea who have donated more than £150,000 to a hospital neurology department in memory of their daughter have pledged to continue their remarkable fundraising exploits.

Ruth and Tony Knowles have donated £6,800 to Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, bringing their fundraising total to £153,000 in the 19 years since daughter Emma-Jayne died.

At a presentation attended by neurology staff, trust chairman Terry Moran and trust chief medical officer Kevin Phillips, Ruth said the couple would never give up trying to help the trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

The couple began fundraising for the trust after Emma-Jayne died of an inoperable brain tumour in 1998.

Emma-Jayne was working as a post woman for the Royal Mail when she started experiencing double vision and cold hands. She went to her GP and an MRI scan revealed she had a brain tumour.

She was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary in April 1998 under the care of consultant Kevin Morris and was found to have a rare brain tumour affecting just one in 1.5 million people.

With the tumour too deep in Emma-Jayne’s brain for surgeons to operate, she received 35 radiotherapy sessions but died in December 1998, six days before Christmas and two weeks before her 23rd birthday.

Ruth said: “When Emma-Jayne was brought here, everyone was fantastic and we wanted to say thank you.

“It won’t bring her back but it helps. As long as I can, I will keep on going.”