Brave Leighton Buzzard mum's fundraising canal walk after one-year-old son diagnosed with brain tumour

Leighton Buzzard mum Jordan Ephgrave admits her whole world collapsed in January when her beautiful one-year-old son Oakley was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

But now this courageous woman is already organising a canal walk to Tring and back to raise funds for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust.

She says the hospital where her son was treated is simply fantastic at looking after seriously ill children.

And the 28-year-old Aldi store assistant explains why: “They provide play specialists to keep children distracted - for example during blood tests or when they’re having canulas put in. They interact with all the children all day. And there are designated play areas open 24/7 on most children’s wards.

"We had the most fantastic care when Oakley was there – and we still do now. He felt so at home in the hospital, which even has a lovely garden for children who get bored and love being outdoors, which he does.”

Jordan says she knows the money raised from her September walk – which she’s doing with Aldi colleagues – will go to a very good cause.

She and her 35-year-old tile-maker partner Nick Sibley first noticed there was something wrong with their normally happy, healthy son when his left eyeball started moving in different directions.

The couple, who are based in Sandhills, Googled the condition and believed he was suffering from nystagmus or lazy eye syndrome. They booked a doctor’s appointment for the end of the month.

But Oakley’s childminder contacted them on January 16 to alert them to the fact the movement wouldn’t stop.

Jordan says: “We got an emergency appointment at the L&D and were seen very quickly. We had to go back the next day for an MRI scan – and that's when we found out about the tumour. We were blue-lighted to Addenbrooke’s where Oakley had more tests and scans.”

On February 6, the tiny tot had surgery to remove the slow-growing pilocytic astrocytomas tumour. But unfortunately, because it was so close to his optic nerve and pituitary gland, they couldn’t remove it all.

He had a seizure less than 48 hours after the operation – which is apparently relatively normal after brain surgery – but recovered quickly.

He’s now on various medications and has a big scar on his hairline.

Jordan says as a result of the tumour, Oakley is experiencing development delays: “This has been very challenging, as has giving him his medication.

"Our next step is checking the growth or shrinkage of the tumour with ongoing appointments and MRIs.”

She says they’re lucky it wasn’t malignant but Oakley, who turned two in March, will have to live with the repercussions for the rest of his life.

His brave mum decided to do the fundraiser to thank Addenbrooke’s for their amazing support – and a group of her lovely Aldi work colleagues will join her all the way.

On Sunday September 15, they’ll walk from Aldi in Vimy Road to Tring station and back – a distance of 22 miles.

If you’d like to help, visit the JustGiving page for more details.