Barnaby’s Legacy For Sick Kids

A bereaved couple and their family and friends raised over £50,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity after taking on multiple running events in memory of their nine-year-old son.

Along with a group of over 120 of their friends and family, Chris and Tina Williams, from Rugby, formed the biggest wave the Wolf Run 10k obstacle run has ever seen and they were all there to honour Barnaby, Chris and Tina’s son, who sadly passed away after a battle with rare paediatric brain cancer called Medulloblastoma.

Barnaby was seven-years-old when he became unwell with a severe headache and feeling sick and after a week without improvement, Chris and Tina took him to their local A&E. As a precaution, Barnaby was taken for CT and MRI scans but the results were devastating, showing a tumour on his brain.

Barnaby was rushed by blue-lights to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which is one of the largest children’s cancer centres in the UK, where just two days later he underwent major surgery to remove the tumour from his brain and relieve some of the pressure in his skull that was causing his headache.

Immediately after his operation Barnaby was enrolled onto a trial for an intense period of chemotherapy treatment over two weeks but before the trial was over, scans showed that Barnaby’s tumour was growing again. It was another massive blow for the Williams family and as Barnaby embarked on a new treatment plan of radiotherapy and an even more intense chemotherapy, Chris and Tina made plans to take turns to stop at the hospital with Barnaby while the other returned home to their younger daughter, Beau.

After six months of treatment, Barnaby finally returned home and thankful for her son’s return, Tina began fundraising for the hospital, running the Great Birmingham Run in his name. However, almost a year later, tests revealed the tumours were back and had begun to spread. Barnaby returned to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for more treatment but sadly, just a few months later, Barnaby lost his fight.

Chris, Tina and Beau’s world had crashed down around them but they knew that Barnaby’s legacy would live on, and they rallied their family, friends and school community to join them to take on the Wolf Run challenge. Over 120 adults joined together to take on the muddy 10k while 50 kids stood alongside Beau to conquer the junior 5k race.

Chris said: “Barnaby’s passing left an enormous hole in our family’s hearts and it was clear from the astounding turnout at our Wolf-Run that he meant to much to so many others too, and that brought us so much comfort. We all wore turquoise which was Barnaby’s favourite colour.

“The Wolf Run was hard work, especially as I completed both distances to accompany Beau, but it was good fun and worth all the effort to raise such an amazing amount to say thank you to the hospital and all the staff who did everything they could for Barnaby.”

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Chris, Tina and Beau were faced with the unimaginable and we can’t thank them enough for supporting our hospital and charity at such a difficult time in their lives.

“Along with their amazing family and friends, Chris, Tina and Beau made sure that Barnaby’s legacy lives on and the astounding amount they raised will go on to help countless sick kids in our hospital’s care.”