Pat Daniells.
FORMER journalist and ex-PR company owner and director, Pat Daniells (51) is Communications Manager for John Penrose, MP for Weston-super-Mare. On Friday morning, October 26 last year, Pat suffered a sudden and total seizure at home.
Originally thought to be the onset of late epilepsy, a series of neurological investigations, including MRI and CT scans, revealed what was thought to be an inoperable low grade, slow growing brain tumour - a glioma - considered to be controllable by a daily battery of anti-convulsive drugs.
Pat was barred from driving but continued to work as normal - which meant flat out - as planning for a major media campaign, to be launched at the House of Commons on December 5, was underway as John Penrose worked to fight the corner of a local constituent, NHS dentist Gaye Herford whose 10-year-old son had suffered, of all things, a sudden photosensitive epileptic seizure while watching a video game.
Weston’s MP would call on Government to change UK law and make it illegal for video game manufacturers to release non-screen tested products.
The campaign, backed not only by Professor Graham Harding, global expert on photosensitive epilepsy but also Ubisoft, the world’s fourth biggest video games manufacturer, went ahead as planned and was a stonker. But, on the home front, by mid to late December, Pat and her seizures, along with her by then still questionable and slightly odd tumour, were out of control.
After a Christmas spent in Weston General Hospital, on Wednesday, January 9, Pat was admitted to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol for life-saving brain surgery to remove a by now fast growing tumour, re-categorised, under biopsy, following a five hour partially ‘awake’ operation to avoid paralysis of her right side, as a highly aggressive and cancerous Grade Four glioma - the highest category of brain tumour going.
Pat at the computer with 'John Boy'.
John Boy’s children - Pat’s stepchildren of 13 years standing - are Amy and Tom Hutson - aged 16 and 14 respectively.
With Amy due to take her GCSEs this year, both teenagers are at Churchill Community School and Sixth Form Centre where Pat is a local authority appointed Governor.
Due to start a course of intensive radiotherapy and oral chemo treatment at Bristol Oncology Centre in mid February - and advised that her tumour is currently destined by medical science to make an unwelcome return within the next five years - Pat, her husband, family and their network of incredible friends have decided on their own course of only positive thinking and action to zap the brain invader, based on American research demonstrating that a positive outlook can help the body boost its own immune system and beat the beast of cancer.
Pat had to model for a clear plastic mask which she will have to wear during radiotherapy treatment. She was dreading this as she is claustrophobic but 'bravely came through with flying colours.' Plaster of paris is applied over cream and gauze.
After finding a temporary replacement for her role, she aims to continue diving in and out of her three-day-a-week job to keep her boss, John Penrose - JP- and his action-packed campaigning programme on its toes.
As part of her and her husband’s self-repair programme and with the support of JP - who Pat simply calls Penrose to avoid confusion with her own John Boy - Pat Daniells today launches her own weekly up-beat and hopefully therapeutic on-line blog, only in the Weston Mercury.
Featuring a host of mostly local characters, ‘Keeping Your Sense of Tumour’ has a cast list of dozens, including new friend and fellow positive thinking brain tumourist Jill G who, by sheer co-incidence, lives just three villages away from Pat in Loxton and who underwent major brain surgery for the same Grade Four category glioma last August - without even telling her mother first.
Pat and Jill were brought together by mutual friends one momentous and amusing evening last December.
Introducing a series of link sites, Pat will also be using her blog to raise awareness of and funds for the work of Weston Hospicecare.
Alongside John Penrose and the Weston Mercury, Pat had been liaising with the local charity since before her tumour reared its ugly head last October.
As bits of her hair start to fall out as chemo and radiotherapy does its zap-attack work over the next nine months, Pat expects to be visiting, on referral by her GP, Dr John Jackson, the widely renowned and highly regarded Uphill-based Weston Hospicecare centre for some TLC as part of her recovery programme.