Padiham boy, 6, died from undiagnosed brain tumour

Lesley Walsh, 42, has been walking around Burnley and Padiham in her pyjamas in order to raise funds for The Brain Tumour Charity in honour of her son.

Thomas Pickles died on June 12, 2023. At the time, the cause of his death was unknown and Lesley says it took around a year to be told he had had a brain tumour.

Lesley said Thomas had been vomiting, a symptom of a brain tumour, since he was two months old. Lesley said doctors had thought the vomiting was due to infections.

She said: “We didn’t know he had a brain tumour until they told us after his death.

"It took them a year to let me know he had a brain tumour after he passed.

“He kept being sick and telling me he had a headache.

"I would give him Calpol and took him to the doctors but they kept telling me he just had a chest infection [and other illnesses].”

Thomas Pickles (Image: Lesley Walsh)

To raise funds for charity and spread awareness of brain tumours, Lesley walked around Padiham and Burnley in her pyjamas.

She managed to raise more than £843 for The Brain Tumour Charity. She plans to organise another fundraising event next year.

She said: “I was walking around in my pyjamas, around Padiham and Burnley, or a month to raise as much money as I could for a brain tumour charity.

“I let everyone on Facebook know I was doing it and many people came up to give me money, telling me what a good job I was doing.

“I am now trying to spread awareness to help other families. I do not want anyone else to go through what I have gone through.

Lesley Walsh (Image: Lesley Walsh)

“If your child has any unusual symptoms, including being sick, dizziness and headaches, please take them straight to the hospital and ask for a CT scan.

“Make doctors take you seriously because they didn’t take me seriously. We were in and out of the doctors for years and they just kept saying he had a chest infection and viral infection. I trusted what the doctors told me.

“I feel let down by the health system as they [could have] found out why he kept being sick.

“Thomas was such a cheeky little lad and he always had been. He was full of fun and he was always happy. Thomas would always be smiling.”

Thomas’ grandmother Margaret Walsh said she is proud of Lesley.

She said: “It was a really hard. When Lesley told me he had died I just broke down in tears. We didn’t know it was a brain tumour the beginning.

“We recently scattered some ashes in Tenerife.

“I am so proud of Lesley and she has done a great job – especially when she had to wear thick pyjamas when it was hot.”

Brain tumour symptoms, according to NHS

A brain tumour is a growth of cells in the brain that multiplies in an abnormal, uncontrollable way.

The symptoms of a brain tumour vary depending on the exact part of the brain affected.

Common symptoms include:

• headaches
• seizures (fits)
• persistently feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting) and drowsiness
• mental or behavioural changes, such as memory problems or changes in personality
• progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
• vision or speech problems
• Sometimes you may not have any symptoms to begin with, or they may develop very slowly over time.

Lesley is encouraging people to donate to The Brain Tumour Charity at: thebraintumourcharity.org