In 2007, Paul Morton from Bristol, aged just 17, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. David and Pippa, his parents, tell his story and theirs.
It was on Valentine’s Day that our comfortable world was turned upside down. Our son Paul was in his last year at St. Mary Redcliffe and Temple School in Bristol studying for his A levels. He had started getting headaches in January and when he complained of double vision, his quick-thinking GP immediately referred him to a specialist. The next day we were at the hospital having tests and a scan. The news was broken to us almost immediately — he had a tumour on the brain. The shock was overwhelming, yet within a week he had undergone surgery and was back home. It all happened so quickly and Paul didn’t miss a single Sunday at our church, Pip ’n Jay.
Legendary smile
Until then we had been the most ordinary and happy of families. Rebekah, his sister, was in her second year at university. They had both attended the same schools, and we all went to church together. Paul was a guitarist and trumpeter and played in the church youth band. He was popular with students and staff at school, even being voted ‘nicest boy’ at the annual ball, and his smile was legendary. He was very active and loved biking, skiing, kayaking, photography and much else. Paul and David enjoyed hill walking together and heading down to Croyde for a day’s surfing, always ending with chips at Squires in Braunton.
