Kirsty's crochet challenge

An 11 year old girl from Tunbridge Wells, who has a brain tumour, has now raised £36,000 for charity by crocheting triangles.

Kirsty Waugh is currently undergoing 70 weeks of chemotherapy and decided to crochet one triangle for every week of her treatment.

She's raising money for the charity Children with Cancer UK, which funds cancer research and provides support.

Last year Kirsty began to lose her memory and her eyesight.  Doctors told her in November that she had a brain tumour.

The tumour is not cancerous, but such a growth can still be life threatening.

Since part of the tumour was removed, Kirsty’s memory and eyesight have returned.

Kirsty told West Kent Radio that “crochet has taken over her life” and that she wants to be seen as “not the girl with the brain tumour, but the girl who raised funds for charity.”

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Kirsty’s Dad, Mat said that Kirsty was the driving force behind the crochet idea.  He said: "Kirsty is the engine behind this. The chemotherapy is lasting well over a year.

“We needed something that would carry us through that was not medical. Something that we could see the progression week to week and would help us in the here and now.”

Benign brain tumours otherwise known as low-grade tumours are non-cancerous as they are less aggressive and cannot spread.

Despite this benign tumours can still be life-threatening as they will continue to grow without treatment and can start to press on the critical areas of the brain.

Kirsty said about her symptoms: “I could not read number plates or far way distance and we started noticing that I was not remembering as much before. I started falling asleep a lot at home and being sick in the morning.”

Kirsty has named her tumour "Terry". It has thankfully shrunk meaning Kirsty’s eyesight and memory are getting better.

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and more research funding is needed.

Mat said this about how he eventually had to tell Kirsty’s siblings: “I felt like I was living this spilt personality because on one hand I was discussing tumours with Kate (Kirsty’s Mum) and doctors and then my other half was talking to our other children about how Kirsty was quite poorly.

“A benign tumour is not cancerous, but we are treated on the cancer ward, we are given cancer literature, and we are supported by cancer charities.

“We needed to give that exposure so that we could talk about cancer and tumours without anyone wincing.”

Mat also talks about how he tries not to compare Kirsty’s situation to other peoples: “People talk about the value of hooking up with other people’s parents and I do get that.

“But trying to find someone in the same situation is like a needle in a haystack because I would have to find someone who had a child the same age as Kirsty with the same type of tumour in the same location.

“I am quite wary of what I read and what I see because it can lead to some dark places that are just not helpful.”

The fundraising target is £50,000 and you can help with the fundraising by visiting her just giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/kirstyw

Kirsty's website is:
https://crochetforcancer.co.uk/

Kirsty said this about her outlook on life: “Always look on the bright side and don’t make the tumour who you are.”