An Aberdeen woman is getting ready to undertake a charity trek in honour of her mum “and best friend”, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Fiona Watt will walk from Dundee to St Andrews along the Fife coastal path next month, before having a night’s rest and hiking to Anstruther.
The 40-year-old is braving the 50-mile challenge as a way of paying tribute to her mum, Madge Brand.
The funds she collects will be donated to the Braintrust charity, which supports brain tumour patients across the UK.
Mrs Watt said the toughest part of her mum’s health battle was “seeing the person you love disappearing away from you”.
She added: “My mum has always been my best friend, and she has been so brave throughout this whole ordeal.
‘This is why it feels important to me to help other families just like us.”
The first time the family became aware that something was seriously wrong was when Mrs Brand suffered a seizure at home two years ago.
Mrs Watt said: “She was very fit and healthy and hadn’t had any headaches or other symptoms.
“But a scan showed she had a shadow on her brain, which we later found out was a 6cm tumour.”
It subsequently emerged, during a gruelling five-hour operation, that the growth had changed from grade two to grade four.
That meant the 68-year-old had to undergo a intensive regime of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for three months.
Mrs Watt explained that her 11-year-old daughter Ruby provided Mrs Brand with the motivation to get through the treatment.
She added: “She wanted to carry on with the chemotherapy so she could be here for my daughter, because they have always had such a lovely relationship.”
Despite completing the therapy, the tumour returned months later in a “very aggressive” form.
Another debilitating round of chemotherapy followed, which eventually succeeded in slowing the growth of the tumour.
However, her illness still caused several problems – including kidney failure – and Mrs Brand is now confined to her bed and unable to walk.
Mrs Watt left a full-time job with a haulage firm to spend more time with her mum, who is being cared for by Marie Curie nurses at home, and now drives buses part-time.
She added: “I didn’t want to look back and regret that I didn’t spend this valuable time with her.
“My mum has always been there for me and always had the answers.
“What is so heartbreaking is that this has robbed my parents, who have been married for 44 years, of their retirement together.
“I think that, until you go through this, you can never understand what it’s like.
“It’s so important that we raise funds to help people like us who are going through this every day across the country.”
People can sign up for the walk on April 14 and April 15 at www.braintumour50.com/ or can sponsor Mrs Watt by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fionawatt2017
