Ben's Story

Ben was diagnosed with a high grade glioma in May 2023 when he was just 8 years old. He had been poorly with daily migraines and sickness for a couple of months and misdiagnosed by numerous doctors when a second visit to the optician saw us take an emergency trip to Bristol children’s hospital via Torbay hospital.

Within 48 hours he underwent a partial resection in a 16 hour surgery. Our lives completely changed that weekend. What followed was the biggest challenge for our whole family. 10 weeks of Mum and Ben living in Bristol hospital while he went through rehab then 6 weeks of daily chemotherapy and radiotherapy while Dad and younger brother Sam tried to retain some normality back at home.

In the following months and years, Ben has shown incredible resilience and strength. He has had 6 surgeries in total, including to fit a shunt and for tumour regrowth. The long term effects of this have left him with hemiplegia on his left side with very limited use of his left hand in particular.

Since March of this year, Ben has been on an inhibitor drug trial through great ormond street hospital which has so far shown promising results, although trips to London every week or two can be taxing!

Although he missed significant chunks of school, Ben has gone on to be a student leader and to pass his 11+, an achievement which we are all incredibly proud of!

We love to make memories as a family and are so excited for this wonderful treat thanks to the Ben Saunders foundation 👍