A FAMILY’S life was turned upside down when a 31-year-old father of the three was diagnosed was a brain tumour.

Luke Johnston, a mechanic and MOT tester, had surgery on Thursday last week (October 20) to remove a fast-growing tumour on his brain.

But thanks to the John Radcliffe Hospital neuroscience department and The Brain Tumour Charity, newly-funded equipment and treatment was available to remove the entire tumour.

READ MORE: Photographers capture striking thunderstorm across the country

Now, Mr Johnston’s wife Rachael wants to raise money for the charity that ‘helped saved her husband’s life’.

Mrs Johnston, who lives with her husband and their three children Callum, 11, Elsie, six, and Rex, three, in Kingston Bagpuize near Abingdon, said: “You just don’t think it’s ever going to happen to you.

“It all stared when Luke started experiencing the typical symptoms of a brain tumour like fatigue, memory loss and vomiting about eight to 12 months ago.

“He went to A+E and they thought he had sinusitis which made us laugh at first as it sounded made up.

“He was put on medicine but nothing was working, his memory loss was so bad he even forgot who I was.

“We took him back to the doctors when he started have muscle spasms down his arm so he was taken to A+E where he had a CT scan that showed a mass on his brain.

READ MORE: Arrest made on suspicion of burglary after shop window 'smashed in'

“Within a week he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and he had surgery to remove it. We are still waiting for to see if the tumour is cancerous, they said it’s very likely.”

Mr Johnston was given the option to opt into a new type of treatment and research to extract the tumour.

“They made Luke drink a solution that made the tumour glow,” said Mrs Johnston, 24, a business owner.

“By doing so the whole tumour was removed – the treatment and equipment wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for money raised by charities for research.

“Without it, Luke would have lost his life. I wouldn’t have a husband and my children wouldn’t have a father.”

Now Mrs Johnston wants to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity, a UK charity dedicated to funding research and raising awareness of brain tumours, by walking 10k on June 3 next year.

“The best thing I can do for other people in this situation is raise money,” she said. “I want to show my support for other people, a small amount for money can make a huge change in people’s lives.

READ MORE: Motorists warned to stay vigilant with chance of second thunderstorm

“We’re so grateful to the charity and also want to thank all the staff and surgeons at the JR neuroscience green ward.”

To donate, or to help Mrs Johnston plan a 10k route, visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/rachael-johnston7

-

Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

A message from our Editor

Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.

If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more. 

You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile. 

If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event fo