The mother of a two-year-old who died of an aggressive brain tumour has completed a 34km ultra challenge on what would have been her son's fifth birthday.
Albie Bayliss-Watts passed away less than a year after being diagnosed with a brain tumour so rare it could not be identified.
On May 18, five people, including his mother Lauren, of Didcot, took on the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge in his honour and to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research.
Albie was diagnosed after having a seizure and later starting to vomit in the mornings.
Despite surgery and intensive chemotherapy treatments, his parents Lauren and Hayley were informed all treatment options has been exhausted, and he passed away on November 28, 2021.
After learning that brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer deaths in children and adults under 40, his parents established a fundraising group named 'Albie and Beyond' for the charity Brain Tumour Research.
Lauren, now a mother to twin girls, took on the challenge with friends Hayley Cook and Lisa Jones as well as her brother Jon Watts.
Scott Crofts-Cawthan completed the full 100km from Corfe Castle to Bridport.
Collectively, their Jurassic Coast challenge has raised close to £3,200 for Brain Tumour Research, with donations still coming in.
Lauren trained for the 34km event by pushing her one-year-old twins, Astrid and Lorelai, 15km two to three times a week from Didcot towards the Chilterns and back.
She said: "We should have been getting his fifth birthday cake ready, not preparing to have more birthdays without him. The pain is never ending.
“No parent should have to go through this but because historically just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research goes on brain tumours, it is happening far too much.
"Please help us in our quest to stop this cruel devastation of families."
Only 12 per cent of people diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years, yet just one per cent of national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research funds research at dedicated centres and campaigns for greater investment into brain tumour research to speed up treatments and ultimately find a cure.
Louise Aubrey, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: "We’re really grateful to Lauren and all who support Albie and Beyond for their incredible fundraising efforts which are helping to make a difference for patients diagnosed with brain tumours.
"Brain Tumour Research is focused on funding research to find more effective treatments and ultimately a cure for all types of brain tumour."
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