Motherwell Teacher's Brain Tumor Diagnosis Leads to Inspiring Family Fundraiser
Julie McCarthy, a 52-year-old primary school teacher from Motherwell, will lead a special family walk this weekend following her shocking brain tumour diagnosis earlier this year. The event aims to raise crucial funds for The Brain Tumour Charity during Brain Tumour Awareness Month.
Life-Changing Seizure While Driving
Julie's life changed dramatically in February 2024 when she suffered a seizure while driving. "Prior to my diagnosis I was healthy and well, working full-time as a primary teacher," she recalled. "I was really busy looking after my three teenagers."
On that fateful morning, Julie had been taking her 16-year-old son to his Saturday job in Hamilton, having driven on two motorways and crossed bridges over the River Clyde. "Thankfully, the seizure happened when I was on my own and had dropped him off," she said.
The incident resulted in her crashing into a roundabout in Hamilton near where she once worked as a student at the David Lloyd creche. "I feel so lucky it happened that way because, thankfully, I didn't mow into any pedestrians or crash into cars," Julie explained. "It was also very rare for me to be on my own in my car—I usually had my three kids."
Successful Surgery and Recovery Journey
Scans at the hospital confirmed Julie had a brain tumour, specifically a glioblastoma—the most common primary high grade brain tumour in adults. She underwent surgery in April 2024, which successfully removed more than 95 percent of the tumour.
"When I found out I had a brain tumour I've never felt so isolated and lonely and worried," Julie shared. "I do everything in life surrounded by family, friends, pupils and colleagues. This was just me on my own."
Despite the challenges, Julie maintains a positive outlook: "But I feel lucky that my tumour doesn't have a big impact on my life. I feel great mostly. I do have a lot of fatigue and dealing with uncertainty is a bit scary."
Family Twilight Walk in Eaglesham
Inspired by her own experience, Julie has organized a Twilight Walk to raise funds and awareness for The Brain Tumour Charity. On Saturday, March 7, she'll be joined by 52 family members for the walk in Eaglesham—a location with deep personal significance.
"I chose Eaglesham for the route of our Twilight Walk because everyone taking part—all 52 of us—have spent our childhoods there playing, exploring, spending happy times with our family," Julie explained.
She fondly recalled childhood memories: "When we were all wee and spending the night in Eaglesham my auntie Catherine would say about bedtime: 'Who wants to go walk up the Orry and into the woods and up the Picket, finishing off at the sweetie shop and the swing park?' Plenty of us cousins had the absolute time of our lives doing Twilight Walks years ago in the 1980s!"
"It just seemed natural to gather again here," Julie added. "It's where the clan gather for any special occasions because everyone now lives all over Scotland, England, and far beyond too. I'm most looking forward to being together, singing together, catching up, and watching all the four generations being happy together."
Fundraising Success and Charity Mission
The fundraising efforts have been remarkably successful, with Julie well on her way to doubling her initial £1,000 target. "I'm so grateful to everyone who has donated," she said. "We need to be aware of the huge army of brain tumour patients fighting this disease right now. It's important to me to raise awareness as well as funds, because we need to find a cause and a cure."
Nadia Whitmore, Community Fundraiser at The Brain Tumour Charity, expressed gratitude for Julie's efforts: "A huge thank you to Julie and family for their incredible efforts. We wish them all the very best with their walk at the weekend."
Whitmore highlighted the urgent need for brain tumour research: "Every day in the UK, 35 people hear the words 'you have a brain tumour'—and unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years. We are leading the way in changing this and truly fighting brain tumours on all fronts through our work."
"It's through the incredible efforts of people like Julie that we can change these shocking statistics in the future and bring hope to the thousands of people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year," she added.
The Brain Tumour Charity is the UK's largest dedicated brain tumour charity, committed to fighting brain tumours through pioneering research, raising awareness of symptoms for earlier diagnosis, and providing support for everyone affected to live as full a life as possible with the best quality of life.
