My wife spotted the warning signs on holiday but it was too late, something was already killing me

What would you do if you were given 12 months to live? It is the unimaginable question that 32-year-old Will Parry was faced with after being told there was a tumour the size of a fist, festering on the left side of his brain. Prior to his diagnosis, the father-of-three loved having adventures with his wife and children – enjoying the outdoors; going on long walks and taking part in any type of water sport. Now, planning a simple week away has become an impossible task for the Ceredigion family.

Rewind to the summer of 2024. Will was going about his usual routine as a security guard – working from 2pm to 10pm at Aberystwyth’s Morrisons, before heading to the local pub or club for another gruelling shift from 2am to 4am, only to return home at 5am. Despite the fatigue, Will pushed through, attributing his pounding headaches to the pressures of his routine. His wife Leanne, however, began noticing a troubling pattern. Despite scaling back his hours, earning a few more hours of precious sleep, Will was getting increasingly lethargic and his energy seemed to be fading.

Things took a concerning turn when the family travelled to Switzerland for a holiday, just one week before their world was turned upside down. Will, who made it a tradition to try the local beer, didn’t drink a single drop during their trip—not even at the airport. Leanne also noticed that Will seemed distant and vacant behind the eyes, something she had never seen in the fifteen years they’d been together. His eye even began twitching, a detail that, at the time, she made light of. “He had a twitch in it and I would joke to him that he was winking at me all the time,” Leanne recalled. “I would just say to him, ‘I know you fancy me, stop winking at me!’”

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Friday, August 23 was the day their lives changed forever. The couple had a house full of kids for their children’ s annual summer sleep-over. Will was about to leave for work… It was then his left leg began to shake uncontrollably. Although he has no recollection of the day, for Leanne, it is something she will never forget. “He was literally just about to leave to go to work at two o’clock in the afternoon, then I noticed his left leg started shaking as he was putting his shoes on. I said to him ‘Are you alright?’ and he was like ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m alright.’ Then his eyes shut and he just collapsed – it looked like he was having a stroke.

“Thankfully one of my closest friends had walked through the door five minutes before it happened, so I was able to leave the kids and take Will across the road to our local GP. I literally had to drag him, which was hard – he is a big bloke, nearly six foot and he couldn’t move one side of his body.” Despite this, Leanne was able to get Will there quickly, with the staff springing into action. He was immediately taken in for an ECG and examination, where their family doctor revealed suspicions that there was a bleed to the brain and referred them to the hospital.

At the hospital in Cardiff the news was devastating. Will was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, with doctors informing Leanne that he had 12 to 18 months to live; leaving her completely heartbroken. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here

Following the horrendous revelation, Will said: “I woke up to see Lee crying in a corner. Then she sort of told me what it was. I can just remember thinking to myself: ‘Right, okay… this is it.’ I’ve literally gone through this whole thing, taking the mick out of myself, sort of been very sarcastic with it. You can’t change what’s happening.”

Further scans revealed the mass of the brain tumour on the left side of Will’s brain, which suggested to professionals that Will’s life expectancy was actually at 2 to 4 months – to the horror of Will and his family. Doctors added that it was a “miracle” he was still able to walk and talk, saying that in usual cases, the patient would have fallen into a coma, making surgery completely inadvisable. However, with Will being functional, he was able to undergo a seven-hour brain surgery to remove 99% of the tumour, that could potentially give him more time.

While the surgery was a success, the doctors’ prognosis was grim. With glioblastoma being such a rapidly growing and aggressive form of cancer, it was ultimately incurable and Will was facing a year to live.

In an act of complete defiance, Will continued with back to back chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. The couple have also been researching for more alternative treatments that might prolong Will’s life further. “I will literally try anything at this point. Lee and I have only been married for two and a bit years. I have three children, my youngest being three and I want to see them grow as much as I can,” Will stated. “I will be a guinea pig – I will take whatever works.”

Leanne continued: “We’ve looked into immunotherapy and research has come out about Vitamin C, which could be an option. We’ve being looking into treatments abroad, but when it starts to look hopeful, we see that it costs something like £100,000 – it is like being kicked in the teeth all over again, the hurdles just don’t stop coming.”

In the months since, the updates of Will’s condition have grown vaguer. “At this point in time, the doctors can’t even give us a rough estimation of how long Will has,” Leanne said. “It’s made it impossible to plan anything. I am scared to look too far ahead because we don’t know what the future holds.”

“Obviously we want to do as many things together as we possibly can,” Will inserted. “The dream is Canada. I’ve wanted to go there since I was 16. While all my friends talked about Australia, there was something about Canada that really stuck out to me. Lee and I were talking about going for our honeymoon but she became pregnant, which threw a spanner in the works. Things just kept getting in the way – there is the cost of health insurance and things like that, but Canada is the goal.”

As the Parry family continue adjusting to their new reality, the couple have also had to come to terms with the grim task of telling their children. Their oldest: Tyler, 12 and Thia, 10, are aware of their father’s illness, though they don’t fully know the extent of the situation. Will shared: “We know that they are very smart children who probably know more than they are letting on. I’ve had my daughter cry on me quite a few times, especially in recent weeks – she knows something. They listen to conversations me and Lee have or me and my mum have. They are like sponges.

“The only time I have ever shed a tear throughout this whole experience, is when I made videos, for when I go. I have only done the first two. I can’t bring myself to do the third.”

Will went on to highlight the support his wife has given him throughout this time, and the pressure she is also under. “She [Leanne] has had to shoulder a lot of it and it’s hitting her harder than most. Every time I bring that up to her, she says, ‘Well it’s not me going through ‘ but it is. In the fifteen years we have been together, we’ve had our ups and downs, just like any relationship but we’ve always been there for each other. She’s an amazing mum, my soulmate, I love her to bits – I always have.”

During this period, the community have truly rallied around the family. “We have amazing family, friends and neighbours who have been unbelievable to us at this time,” Leanne shared. “We have been feeling so guilty about the amount of money that has been raised and given to us – we have never asked but we are so grateful.”

“What has been even more incredible is the strangers who have come forward to help – people we have never met,” Will continued. “My best friend Rhydian Roberts put my name forward for support from this charity, Love from Wales. Not long later, we received a Zoom call from Sion, Doug and Paul who were so eager to help us. That is when we were told about the 15 Peaks Challenge.”

A team of 35 volunteers will be hoping to summit 15 peaks in Snowdonia within 48 hours in early April on behalf of Will and his family. The event has been carefully mapped out with experienced Mountain Leaders and medical support leaders who have many years’ experience with these types of events. The event will undoubtedly be extremely tough due to the rocky paths, steep inclines, declines and climbing the infamous Crib Goch ridge on Snowdon.

Although this challenge is usually carried out over a week, the group are going to complete this in 2 days and will look to pitch up our tents at local Campsites over the weekend event.

A spokesperson from Love from Wales, wrote on their crowdfunding website ahead of the challenge: “We are raising as much money as possible to give to Will and his family to create some memories they will never forget. If you can spare any money for this challenge, we would really appreciate it! This Charity was created to give people any type of support that is possible and this is hugely important for Will and his family. Love from Wales are ready to step up and face a challenge that may sound crazy but with everyone’s support we will get the job done and raise a large sum of money for Will and the family.”

You can donate to the fundraising campaign here.

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