The father of three children died only a few days after he was diagnosed with four incurable brain tumors. David Bicker-Caarten, a 58-year-old school head, felt the numbness of the fingers and armor for several months, until he decided to be investigated at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in the County Shropshire in July 2023. As reported, it was too late.
Although he underwent magnetic resonance, up to 5 October 2023, a new examination and biopsy found that it had four glioblastoma brain tumors in the final stage. This overwhelming message meant that it would not live Christmas and died on October 14.
His 55-year-old wife Clare and their three children, 25-year-old Paige, 23-year-old Mary and 21-year-old Guy, are now going to run the London marathon in his honor. “It was completely devastating – we couldn’t believe it. If we knew exactly what was happening, we could take him home, we could invite the family. David’s cancer team was fantastic, but so soon after making a diagnosis they told us they couldn’t do anything. Christmas wouldn’t live, “ She said crushed Clare.
At the beginning of 2023, David began working as a headmaster of an independent school. He described this work as “very stressful”. He appeared armor in his left hand, which led to the numbness of the fingers, but attributed it to working pressure. In the first week of July he decided to order Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. They sent it to magnetic resonance. Clare, however, says he learned about the results after a month.
The couple assumed it was nothing serious. “At the end of July he really started to feel bad. He sweated and was very uncertain on his feet,” Clare said. On July 29, David took the emergency room, where doctors told him the results of magnetic resonance imaging. They said he had a small lesion on his brain – but they couldn’t find out what caused it. David Hospitalized for 10 days and underwent a series of demanding examinations, such as lumbar puncture to eliminate diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
“They didn’t find anything, so they said they would send him to the Royal Stoke Hospital hospital. But while we were waiting for an answer, his condition worsened again – He stood very uncertainly on his feet and was very sick. Was really uncomfortable, “ Clare continued.
Exactly a month after Clare had taken her husband to the emergency room, she decided to take David straight to the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-On-Trent, where he was immediately accepted. The attending team suspected that David could suffer from liver failure, so he stayed in the gastroenterology department for four weeks.
Clare says she doubted and constantly warned consultants about David’s previous results of magnetic resonance imaging showing his brain lesion. She said she was afraid she had a cyst or infection that could cause its symptoms. At the end of September 2023, David’s doctor said he would make a biopsy.
“The next morning David took the hall and put him to sleep. But they decided – before they proceed to the operation – take new images he had completed the next day. They found that it has four aggressive glioblastoma tumors on the brain, including the tumor on the spine, “ recalls Clare on a fateful day.
Biopsy 5th October She confirmed that the tumors are in the fourth stage and are inoperable. David recommended the oncology team in Stoke, but on October 11 he told him he was too ill to undergo chemotherapy, and the team will instead focus on providing care at the end of his life. Just two days later, October 13, David died in the hospital.
“It was terrible all the time. I feel that his diagnosis was made too late, it was a constant struggle to tell me something,” She said the widow Clare, who, along with the children, will run the London marathon to turn David’s suffering into “something positive” and raise money for brain tumors research. Clare has been training from the beginning and claims that all her hard work “will be worth it”.
“It’s exhausting, I never ran in my life. I know I will run in the back with people in dinosaurs costumes, but it gave me a plan and something I can work on. Glioblastoma is the smgaled type of brain cancer that anyone can get – more funds need to be raised, ” Clare revealed her motivation.
“Clare’s efforts to raise funds in memory of her husband David incredibly touched me. Clare and her children have collected a considerable amount of money for a charity for brain tumors research, and we wish them all four successes at the London Marathon April, “ Pascale Harvie, President and Director General of Justgiving.
