• Business
  • Life
  • Celebrity
  • Sport
  • Blog
  • Auto
  • Tech
Stories from SWNS
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Karim Tahseen Khayat: Seeds Training Services and Digital Services

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    From HID to LED

    From HID to LED

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Business
  • Life
    • Celebrity
  • Tech
    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
  • Review

    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay on the Nintendo Switch

    Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review

    macOS Sierra review: Mac users get a modest update this year

    Hands on: Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 review

    The Last Guardian Playstation 4 Game review

    Intel Core i7-7700K ‘Kaby Lake’ review

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Karim Tahseen Khayat: Seeds Training Services and Digital Services

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    From HID to LED

    From HID to LED

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Business
  • Life
    • Celebrity
  • Tech
    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
  • Review

    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay on the Nintendo Switch

    Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review

    macOS Sierra review: Mac users get a modest update this year

    Hands on: Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 review

    The Last Guardian Playstation 4 Game review

    Intel Core i7-7700K ‘Kaby Lake’ review

No Result
View All Result
Stories from SWNS
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Heartache as father who raised £500,000 for his little girl’s cancer treatment dies from a brain tumour

by
September 30, 2015
in News
0
Heartache as father who raised £500,000 for his little girl’s cancer treatment dies from a brain tumour

Tom Attwater with his daughter Kelli at his wedding in April 2014 (SWNS Group)

0
SHARES
72
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

An inspirational dad who raised more than £500,000 to fund his six-year-old stepdaughter’s cancer treatment while he battled a brain tumour has died.

Tom Attwater with his daughter Kelli at his wedding in April 2014 (SWNS Group)
Tom Attwater with his daughter Kelli at his wedding in April 2014 (SWNS Group)

Tragic Tom Attwater, 32, captured the hearts of a nation by fighting his own ill health while ensuring stepdaughter Kelli Smith was given the best chance of life.

The youngster endured childhood cancer neuroblastoma aged just three-months-old and then again aged three in 2012.

But the family were dealt another devastating blow after Tom was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in September that year.

Dedicated Tom ignored his own health concerns and instead focused on fundraising for the daughter of his 28-year-old wife Joely.

He vowed to raise half a million pounds before his death so that Kelli could receive pioneering medical care not available on the NHS.

Collect photo of Kelli Attwater taken in Birmingham Childrens Hosptial (SWNS Group)
Collect photo of Kelli Attwater taken in Birmingham Childrens Hosptial (SWNS Group)

And in December last year his dying wish came true as he hit the £500,000 mark to be able to send his little girl to the USA for life-saving treatment.

At the time he described the moment as the “greatest achievement of his life” and said he could die safe in knowledge he had given the Kelli the best chance of survival.

A month before he and Joely had even celebrated the birth of their own son Fletcher, who was born against the odds while Tom was having cancer treatment.

But on Tuesday (29/9 the brave dad lost his battle against the disease and sadly died at his home in Pattingham, Staffs., with his family by his side.

Tom Attwater in hospital in October 2012 follwing his craniotomy (SWNS Group)
Tom Attwater in hospital in October 2012 follwing his craniotomy (SWNS Group)

Today (Wed), heartbroken Joely, a social care student, said: “Tom gave me the happiest moments of my life and I am in indescribable pain now he has gone.

“I knew one day I would lose him but did not think it would be this soon.

“I can’t even comprehend how I am supposed to live the rest of my life without my best friend.

“It also saddens me to know our children will have to grow up without their father around.

“This is a very tough time for Kelli. We explained that daddy’s ‘naughty lump’ in his head couldn’t be cured and that one day he would go to heaven while she was still a child.

“That’s why it meant so much to Tom to walk Kelli down the aisle at our wedding because he knew he wouldn’t be there when she is a bride, and Kelli knew this.

“She will cherish that moment forever.

“When Tom was in hospital and we found out that the time was getting close I gently explained to Kelli that daddy would have to leave us soon.

“It was the most difficult moment of my life.

“Kelli is a daddy’s girl and she will struggle to adjust without her wonderful, loving father.

“Little Fletcher’s face always lit up and showed a real look of love when he was in Tom‘s arms.

“We have hundreds of pictures of their time together and I am devastated that they will be all Fletcher has of the amazing man who was overjoyed to see him born.

“I will do my utmost to bring Fletcher up as a gentleman just like his dad.

“Tom has put cards, letters and presents away for every one of Kelli and Fletcher’s birthdays.

“Tom was my hero. His drive to help Kelli astounded all who knew him. Despite his extreme fatigue and daily seizures, he got out of bed every day to help fundraise.

“He wanted me to know that although he wouldn’t live to any age, Kelli would have the very best chance of life.”
NTI_ATTWATER_CANCER_03Tom‘s father Tony Attwater, 62, said: “We are so proud that despite his illness he managed to raise all that money for the Kelli appeal.

“We will miss him so much. His personality filled the room.”

His mum Sue Attwater, 61, added: “He worked hard and played hard but family always came first.

“He always told Kelli never to give up on anything but unfortunately this was one fight he could never win.”

When Tom was first diagnosed with astrocytoma, scans showed a tumour covered 11 per cent of his brain.

It quickly worsened and he faced a terminal illness at the age of 29.

Tom Attwater with his wife Joely and daughter Kelli taken in 2014 (SWNS Group)
Tom Attwater with his wife Joely and daughter Kelli taken in 2014 (SWNS Group)

But first on his bucket list was raising the whopping #500,000 for Kelli’s appeal and joint second was marrying Joely and having a child together.

He wed Joely in April 2014 and, in August last year, she fell pregnant with Fletcher.

Speaking at the time, delighted Tom said: “I cried and pretty much cried for the entire next day, maybe even two days when she told me.

“It’s the best news I’ve ever had. Having a child and making Kelli a big sister completes our family.”

Kelli is currently cancer free but has been told she is likely to suffer a relapse and the money raised will go towards the treatment in the USA if this occurs.

Joely has now set up a memorial fund in Tom‘s name for Brain Tumour Research. It can be found at www.justgiving.com/tomattwatermemorialfund

Previous Post

Action Gran! : Daredevil great-great grandmother takes to sky in her first paraglide for her latest hair-raising challenge for charity

Next Post

Retronaut, the past like you wouldn’t believe, now on cards!

Next Post
Retronaut, the past like you wouldn’t believe, now on cards!

Retronaut, the past like you wouldn’t believe, now on cards!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected test

  • 116 Followers
  • 60k Followers
  • 174k Subscribers
  • 23.6k Followers
  • 99 Subscribers
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Women love cheesy chat up lines, a study has revealed

Top 20 cheesy chat-up lines ladies really love

March 5, 2014
The top ten most well-known bingo phrases

The top ten most well-known bingo phrases

January 21, 2014
The horses thunder towards a jump at the Grand National

Amazing racehorse names which never made it

April 23, 2014
HGH Injections Brands: Which Ones Are Best?

HGH Injections Brands: Which Ones Are Best?

January 14, 2019
Chris Fear, 33, outside the Coral betting shop which is refusing to pay out on his 485/1 winning bet

Boycott Coral! Bookmaker faces protest after refusing to pay out on a football fan’s 485/1 bet

184
Women love cheesy chat up lines, a study has revealed

Top 20 cheesy chat-up lines ladies really love

147
Women feel invisible to the opposite sex at the age of 51, researchers found

Women begin feeling invisible to men ‘when they turn 51’

138
UKIP candidate claims Jews murdered each other in the Holocaust in masterplan to create State of Israel

UKIP candidate claims Jews murdered each other in the Holocaust in masterplan to create State of Israel

105
Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

August 4, 2022
Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

August 4, 2022
VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

July 29, 2022
How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

July 28, 2022

Recent News

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

August 4, 2022
Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

August 4, 2022
VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

July 29, 2022
How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

July 28, 2022
SWNS

SWNS all rights reserved. Copyright 2020

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Auto
  • Blog
  • Business
  • Celebrity
  • Gaming
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Pictures
  • Property
  • Review
  • Sport
  • SWNS
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Recent News

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

August 4, 2022
Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

August 4, 2022
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Real Fix is a trading style of South West News Service Limited.
Copyright © 2020 South West News Service Limited.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business
  • Life
  • Celebrity
  • Sport
  • Blog
  • Auto
  • Tech

Real Fix is a trading style of South West News Service Limited.
Copyright © 2020 South West News Service Limited.