£10,000 brain tumour fund raiser for Lisa
Friends of a Caythorpe woman diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour are helping to fulfil her wishes of raising awareness of the disease and supporting charities while funding special equipment to enable her to make some memories.
Kerry Williams, of Grantham, is leading the fundraising appeal for her friend, Lisa Gerassimov, 51, who has been diagnosed with an inoperable grade 3-4 Astrocytoma brain tumour with chemotherapy and radiotherapy expected to only extend life for a short while at most.
Lisa, who worked at Archaeological Project services at Heckington felt unwell for the last few years. In September 2023, while at work, she injured her leg. Two days before returning to work in January 2024 she had a huge seizure at home. She had had an ‘infarction’ on the brain and a biopsy confirmed the Astrocytoma.
Kerry said: “She was told she had probably had the tumour for a few years.”
The fundraiser at www.gofundme.com/f/rewild-rovers-lisas-legacy has so raised more than £9,500, in an effort to raise awareness of brain tumours and the symptoms to look out for which are similar to menopause – tiredness, knee buckling, snoring, confusion, weakness and forgetfulness.
Kerry said the fundraising response from friends has been unbelievable.
They also want to make the next few months more comfortable.
The mum-of-two is now epileptic with drastically reduced mobility and prone to falls. Partner Trevor Lee, a stonemason, has done his best but Lisa's care needs will increase.
They also want to fundraise for a few local wildlife charities and rewilding projects close to Lisa's heart., that go above and beyond but are sadly underfunded.
At the same time they aim to highlight The Brains Trust and Maggies Cancer Support Centre in Nottingham and fund some of the equipment Lisa will need in the coming months as her mobility decreases, including fitting grab handles in their van to enable her to get in and out.
Kerry said: “Lisa and Trevor have incredible passion for nature and photography, and take many trips exploring new places in their van. During treatment Lisa's immune system will not allow her to mix with anyone outside of the house for fear of infection, but if the treatment does reduce the tumour a little her and Trevor would really love to do a couple more shorter trips afterwards to leave a lasting legacy.”
She would love to see the Outer Hebrides and Ireland and invite people to join them periodically at certain locations throughout their journeys, maybe even camping the night or wild swimming, another of their passions.
They would also like to continue their audio recordings capturing migrating bird sounds at night to track and document migration patterns. This is crucial to understanding the effects of the environment/changing weather on where birds nest, feed and breed. “With Lisa unable to walk now, this is something that benefits her mental health and distracts from the inevitable future for a while,” said Kerry.
Lisa told her: "This is my last chance to speak on behalf of those without voices and contribute towards more understanding of brain cancers, how debilitating they can become, and in my case how silently they grow."