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Nottingham brain tumour survivor completes epic walk from Nottingham to Paris

A young woman from Mapperley, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour aged four, has completed an epic 350-mile walk from Nottingham to Paris in memory of a friend who died of a brain tumour, aged 15.

 

Eleica Hines, 20, set out from the David Lloyd Club Nottingham, Aspley Lane, where she works, in the pouring rain on Monday, 30th September.

She finally unlaced her trainers under the Eiffel Tower on Friday, 18th October, 19 days after setting out on an extraordinary challenge which turned out to be even more gruelling than she had ever anticipated.

Eleica setting out from her workplace in Nottingham
Eleica setting out from her workplace in Nottingham

Contending with torrential rain and gales, as well as having to dodge fast-moving traffic on roads without pavements, Eleica carried everything she needed in a backpack weighing 15kg. Twice she found herself stranded so far from civilisation that she had to sleep the night in a tent and then set out in the morning without breakfast – even on one occasion walking in pouring rain for 10 miles before she found somewhere to eat.

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Erin Kiggins

Eleica said: “The journey from Nottingham to Paris was painful, but nowhere near as painful as it is for those living with a brain tumour or for the family and friends who have lost loved ones to the disease. I could choose at any point to stop my journey, but for those with a brain tumour, they do not get that choice to stop the journey. It made me determined to keep going.

“Completing such a challenging walk has proved to me how much strength I have inside me. It’s definitely been character-building!

“My friend Erin Kiggins had her whole life ahead of her and it still hits me hard that she was taken away far too soon. She was funny, strong-willed, loyal and just a genuinely nice person. I really feel for her two brothers, mother and father, and all those she touched by her presence.”

Eleica finishing at the Eiffel Tower
Eleica finishing at the Eiffel Tower

“Remembering Erin, lost aged 15 to a brain tumour, and thinking about what her family have gone through since, kept me focused on getting to the finish line, along with her mum’s lovely messages giving me lots of encouragement.”

Eleica stops to refuel resized scaled

 

Eleica added: “I’m so grateful to David Lloyd for their continued support right from the beginning to the end, as well as helping me do fundraisers in the club and sharing my walk on social media. My total now stands at over £5,000 and I am now working out what more I can do to achieve a grand total of £10,000.”

Eleica was diagnosed with a brain tumour after vomiting and losing weight, as well as suffering from fatigue and loss of balance.

She said: “When my right eye turned inwards, I was given glasses, but it didn’t solve my symptoms, so my dad took me to Queen’s Medical Centre where they found a build-up of pressure behind my eye.

“Just two days later I underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour. I was lucky that surgeons were able to remove it all, although I did have problems over the years with the shunt I had fitted to drain excess fluid from my brain. And, although I’m lucky that I haven’t had any regrowth of the tumour, I’ve been left with issues with my fine motor skills because I can’t feel as well on my left side as I can on my right.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.

Eleica continued: “Erin and I did aikido – a form of martial arts – together and were very close, but our martial arts training classes had stopped because of the COVID lockdown. She was on Zoom with her school, Colonel Frank Seely Academy, when she had a massive seizure in January 2021 from which she collapsed and never came round. Later it was discovered Erin had an undiagnosed brain tumour.”

“Having had to learn to walk again after my surgery, I thought that taking on the challenge of walking the distance from Nottingham to Paris to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research would be very fitting.”

Ashley McWilliams, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any age. Just less than 13% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years, compared with an average of 54% across all cancers.

“We are really grateful to Eleica for her incredible effort to help to find a cure for this devastating disease, inspired not only by her own diagnosis, but also because of losing her good friend Erin so unexpectedly.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To donate, go to www.justgiving.com/page/eleica-hines-1719434917689

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