Brain tumour survivor helps fellow sufferers with charity bike ride

Emma Bassett, 16, was diagnosed with the tumour — thought to be one of the largest recorded — when she was 12. She had two 15-hour operations to remove the non-cancerous growth and was left paralysed down her left side, deaf in one ear and unable to speak.

After months of physical and speech therapy she has made an almost complete recovery. Her loss of hearing is permanent.

Now she is preparing to take her GCSEs this summer and came up with the idea of the ride to help other people with brain tumours.

She said: "My recovery was very hard. After the operation I was severely disabled because the tumour had been wrapped round my brain stem. But my mum promised to get me a dog, so I got a puppy as a surprise — that really helped.

"All the nurses said if I wasn't so determined I would have still been in a wheelchair. I was worried before I went back to school because I looked severely disabled and I thought people would stare at me but they weren't like that at all. They were really helpful."

The sponsored bike ride in aid of the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust will take place next Wednesday at Waldegrave School in Twickenham, which Emma attends.

She will join nine fellow pupils and 10 teachers to cycle for 20-minute stints on two static bikes in the school foyer. The team hopes to raise £1,000.

To sponsor the cyclists, visit www.justgiving.com/waldbikeathon.