About Rebecca
 
Rebecca was a normal fun loving child until the age of seven when she started having frequent headaches.  They would keep her awake at night and affected her school day.  After four months of continuously taking her to the doctors we were sent to casualty and a large brain tumour was found. After having surgery to remove the tumour on 17th December 1999 it was found that Rebecca had a Grade 111 anaplastic oligodendroglioma, very rare in children.
She had to have six weeks of radiotherapy, where she lost most of her hair and it never regrew on the left hand side.  Despite all this Rebecca was determined to go to school and do all the normal things that children of her age did.  She became known for wearing different hats as she didn’t like people staring at her head.
 For two and a half years the tumour stayed away, although she did lose 50% of her vision a year after surgery and radiotherapy, which made life more difficult for her.
In November 2003 it was discovered that the tumour was growing again and further surgery could not remove it all.  A second dose of radiotherapy was given, which was a trial, but unfortunately by December of 2004 the tumour was still growing and no further treatment was possible.
Rebecca had special times in her short life, like her dream of swimming with dolphins, something we cherish as a family.  Also she liked nothing more than being with her friends, so they all had a makeover and photo shoot where they giggled all the time.  Rebecca was always one to rewrite history and against all odds survived to her 12th birthday where we had a very special prom with all her friends and family.
Rebecca was aware that she was going to die and although very scared faced every hurdle with courage
and determination She was able to prepare memory boxes for all those she loved which we opened after her death, and the hard work and love she put into them astounds me still. 
She loved art and making things, and even when her illness had left her without the use of her right side she would draw with her left hand. Rebecca was always worrying about how other people would be after she had gone, and she also worried about all the other children  and would hold their hands if they were feeling too poorly to do anything. We told Rebecca about the charity we would set up in her memory and she was delighted with the name we chose.  She also pledged her savings of £250 to give it a start.
I have learnt a lot from Rebecca and feel so proud to have had her as part of my life.  The bravery with which she faced her illness and the determination to be treated like everyone else is something I will never forget.  A short life full of happy and sad times, but achieving what most of us will never achieve even if we reach 90.