“Every step I take is for Abigail”:

Bereaved mum’s month-long charity jaunt

A grandmother from Pembrokeshire is walking 10,000 steps a day for charity, in memory of the daughter she lost to an aggressive brain tumour.

Kazzy Minton, originally from Swansea but now living in Freshwater East, is taking part in the 10,000 Steps a Day in February Challenge in aid of Brain Tumour Research, to honour her little girl Abigail Burrows, who died in April 1996, aged just 21 months.

Kazzy, a 61-year-old full-time PhD student at Swansea University, said: “”I first noticed something was wrong with Abby in 1995, around Christmas time. She was 18 months old and was running around one day when suddenly, she keeled over for no apparent reason.

“I also noticed that when I lay her down to change her nappy, she would cry. The same thing happened when I put her in her car seat. I took her to the doctor several times and they just kept saying it was an ear infection. She was given antibiotics but the symptoms would persist, so we’d go back to the GP, only to be given more antibiotics.”

By March 1996, Abby had stopped eating. At the beginning of April, Kazzy took her daughter to see a consultant at Singleton Hospital in Swansea and she was given an MRI scan, which revealed the devastating news that she had a brain tumour.

Kazzy said: “Abby was taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea for an operation to debulk the tumour. It was a really long op. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I went home and cleaned my house from top to bottom. After an excruciatingly long day waiting for news, Abby’s dad Paul and I were asked to go back to the hospital, where the surgeon said that while he hadn’t managed to get all the tumour, the surgery had been successful.”

Kazzy described the terrifying moment she saw her daughter in recovery: “She looked so tiny hooked up to tubes, wires, and machines beeping. I felt so overwhelmed. Paul went to the ward to get Abby’s favourite book – Snow White and the Seven Dwarves – to read to her while I stayed by her side, holding her hand. Then, all of a sudden, she opened her eyes, looked at me and said: ‘Mum’ and an alarm sounded to signal her heart had stopped.”

Devastatingly, medics were unable to revive Abby and she died in the recovery room.

As well as her heartbroken parents, Abby left behind two adoring older brothers; Grant, 13, and Dale, 11. Kazzy was also seven months pregnant with another boy, Samuel, who was born seven weeks to the day after Abby died.

She said: “That whole period between Abby dying and Sam arriving is a blur. It was hell; I was completely grief-stricken but somehow had to keep going to look after my other children and prepare for the imminent arrival of my fourth child.”

Not long after welcoming Sam into her family, Kazzy became pregnant again and 15 months later, her daughter Poppy Abigail arrived. She also has a stepson, Will, aged 26.

Kazzy said: “I’m glad I’ve got a big family. Having more babies definitely kept me busy but it’s hard to explain the challenges of grieving one child and giving birth to another at the same time. But I survived.”

Kazzy, who is married to tattoo artist Lee, 55, is joining thousands of other fundraisers around the UK to take part in the 10,000 Steps a Day in February challenge, in the hope that a cure will be found for this awful disease.  

The grandmother-of-two said: “I’ve worked out I need to walk around four miles a day. I’m being accompanied by my two dogs; Dexter, a 12-year-old border collie and Frida, a 12-month-old lurcher. We live 0.2 miles away from a dog-friendly beach, so that’s where I’m doing most of my walks. I’ve already raised more than £1,200, which I’m so pleased about and can’t thank everyone enough for their support.”

After a successful first challenge a year ago which raised nearly £1 million to support vital research and campaigning, Brain Tumour Research’s 10,000 Steps a Day in February Challenge is back. The charity is calling for people to step up to the Facebook challenge and make it even bigger and better in 2022. Participants will receive a free emoji t-shirt and fundraising pack when they receive their first donation and a special medal if they raise £274 or more.

Mel Tiley, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re so grateful to Kazzy for choosing to support of our charity in memory of Abigail. Abby’s story is heart-breaking and reminds us of the indiscriminate nature of this hideous disease. We wish Kazzy luck with the daily walks and hope that she and the thousands of others taking part in this challenge enjoy hitting their target step count.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia and is also campaigning for greater repurposing of drugs.

To support Kazzy’s fundraising, visit www.facebook.com/donate/465340961810949 .