NI man honors his devoted wife who died after being diagnosed with a brain tumor –

The father-of-two, who lost his wife just five months ago, says he will follow through with a conversation in which the counselor says he has days left.

Nicola Robinson, an elementary school teacher in Fountain, was 35 when she died in October 2021 of a brain tumor that had spread from astrocytoma.

Her husband, Alan, 38, of Derry, now joins a brain tumor research charity, War A Hat Day, before he starts raising money for a marathon.

He explained how his wife complained of “a headache and dizziness for two weeks” in November 2018.

Alan, father of Alfie, 4- and 7-year-old Amelia, said, “His doctor sent him to Altnagevin District Hospital for a CT scan, where they found a mass in his brain. It all happened quickly.

“Five weeks later, Nicholas underwent two seven-hour liver bombs at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, followed by six weeks of radiotherapy and eight months of chemotherapy, and his last session was on New Year’s Eve 2019.

We went shopping for clothes and had lunch in Belfast until the final treatment. It was a great day that we fought for for a long time.”

In the summer of 2020, Nicholas had a seizure in which an MRI later showed a new growth of the tumor, prompting the young teacher to undergo another round of chemotherapy.

In the spring of 2021, a mother of two lost her right arm and leg job and deteriorated all summer until she was admitted to Belfast City Hospital on October 5, 2021.

Alan said: “Nicolas was a very loyal teacher and loved children as much as herself. The counselor told me that Nicholas only had a few days left, a conversation that would go on for me.

“Nicolas’s mother and Robert’s father and Beth Clark and his brothers Stephen and Andrew Clark by our side were rude and skinny, they helped us a lot.

“Nicola was brought closer to home, to Foil Hospice, where she received extraordinary care and attention in her last days.”

Nicolas passed away on October 13, 2021 in the company of a loving family.

Alan will tip his hat to brain tumor research for Wear A Hat Day and then run a sign-up half marathon, starting in the middle of Omaha on April 3, where he will be joined by 20 friends and family.

Teachers at Dramaho Primary School, where Amelia teaches, will participate in the Belfast Marathon to raise funds for this.

He said, “Brain tumor is a horrible killer. We, as a family, have been through so much in the past three years, it’s been a constant battle.

“The statistics on brain tumors are shocking. Brain tumors kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, but only 1% of national spending on cancer research goes to this devastating disease.”

Matthew Price, director of community development at the Brain Tumor Research Center, said: “We are deeply saddened to learn that Alan and his children have lost Nicola to this devastating disease and we sympathize with them.

“We are really grateful to the family for attending Wear A Hat Day and raising funds for brain tumor research for five half marathons, because only with the support of these people can we move forward.” “Our brain tumor research will improve outcomes for patients like Nicola who have been forced to fight this terrible disease.”

The Brain Tumor Research Center funds sustainable research at specialist centers in the UK. It is also campaigning for government and cancer charities to invest more in brain tumor research to expedite new treatments for patients and eventually find a cure.

The charity is the driving force behind annual national spending of $35.35 million to improve survival rates and outcomes for patients with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukemia, and it also campaigns for greater drug reuse.

To donate to the Alan GoFundMe page, please visit here.