Fundraiser taking on Tough Mudder challenge in memory of his beloved mum

Tom Owen is taking on the 10k Tough Mudder Challenge in May to raise vital funds for the QE in memory of his mum.

Tom's beloved mum, Sharon, passed away last December from kidney failure. Sharon was cared for by the Renal Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Tom said, "We are all saddened by the loss of our mom, however, I know she would want us to do what we could to say thank you and to potentially help others in the future, however big or small.

We are fundraising for the QE hospital Birmingham to try and say thank you for all the hard work and effort every individual put in to help care for my mom. The renal ward where she spent her last 3 months of her life were incredible. My Mom wasn’t always the most cooperative when it came to her being in the hospital, but she couldn’t praise the staff enough for all they did for her."

Sharon was diagnosed with diabetes in 2008, a year later she was diagnosed with Polycythemia which is an increase in the number of red blood cells produced in the body. In Sharon's case, this led to several pulmonary embolisms. "A huge one was found in her heart which the hospital was concerned about", Tom said.

Pulmonary embolism is a blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in your lungs. In most cases, pulmonary embolism is caused by blood clots that travel to the lungs from deep veins in the legs or, rarely, from veins in other parts of the body.

Sharon was then diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 2016, as well as suffering from many diabetic complications throughout the years. Diabetic Neuropathy was then finally diagnosed in 2017, which caused blindness the following year.

Tom said, "Mom lost complete sight in one eye, and had only 20% vision in the other eye, which then finally went too. A pulmonary endarterectomy was suggested in 2018, which would have removed all the blockages in moms heart, in a seriously high-risk operation down at Papworth hospital, however, this was put off due to QE, Sheffield and Papworth hospitals not clearing her for general anaesthetic, as this was even more high risk for mom not making it through the operation due to her ill health.

In 2019 Sharon was diagnosed with renal kidney failure resulting in her having to have Haemo dialysis five days a week for eight hours a day. Unfortunately, due to her polycythemia and pulmonary hypertension, her heart couldn’t cope with the dialysis, which resulted in her heart-stopping twice within a week in February 2021 and being resuscitated twice.
Due to this, she was rushed to Papworth hospital for the operation she was advised two years before not to have, the pulmonary endarterectomy, as they had no other options.

Tom said, "Mom was in theatre for 12 hours and made it through the operation. She was then in and out of hospital up until the end of September when she went in for the last time. She was diagnosed with calciphylaxis in October 2021 and suffered from this until her passing on December 9th at 6:15 pm.

Mom was such a strong character, who never wanted to burden anyone else with her illnesses or problems. She had a loving, caring family around her who she would be so proud of."

In his mum's memory, Tom wants to raise vital funds for the Renal Unit at the QEHB.

Tom said, "In moms memory, I want to raise money for QE hospital to say thank you for everything they did for her, and it will be the first of many charity events I do, as I want to continue her legacy and make sure she is remembered. I am taking on a 10k tough mudder event in May with ten close friends and family, in remembrance of my beloved mom. I'm trying to raise as much money as possible for all their hard work and dedication to my mom in the time they cared for her before she sadly passed away with kidney failure in early December.

Tom's fundraiser has currently raised £365. You can support Tom by clicking this link.