Paul Taylor-Burr, who organises Crawley Pride, is preparing to take part in a fundraiser that will see him wear his rainbow cowboy hat with pride.
Paul will be taking part in the Brain Tumour Research charity’s Wear a Hat Day, an annual fundraiser and awareness day which takes place towards the end of Brain Tumour Awareness Month, on March 25.
His inspiration for the event, which will see him take to social media during the latter half of a sleep out he is doing for a Crawley-based homeless shelter, comes after watching his best friend, Craig Bridger’s brain tumour battle.
Craig was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in 2013 after experiencing problems with his balance and eyesight. He was given a prognosis of up to 18 months but survived more than two years, dying at the age of 40.
Paul, 54, who met Craig when they were colleagues in the late ’90s, said:“His nickname was Mr Blobby because he weighed about 27 stone. He was a huge bloke but huge in many ways, not just in stature, and he certainly had a way with the ladies – I think they liked the ‘cheeky chappy’ side of him.
He added: “He started losing his balance and bumping into things and a third of his eye was kind of misty so he finally went to the doctor. He thought it could be an ear infection, something really mild he could take a couple of tablets for, take a week off work, and get back to normal, but he was told he had a brain tumour and that it wasn’t in a place they could do anything about.”
Craig underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy but decided to cease treatment in 2016 after experiencing increased mobility and communication problems, as well as paranoia.
Paul, whose chosen rainbow coloured hat also features in the Crawley Pride event he helps organise, said: “I want to raise what I can for the charity because I saw what Craig’s brain tumour did to him. He went from being this larger than life character to being a shadow of his former self. He just wasn’t him by the end. It was a complete and utter turnaround from the fun-loving, jumping-for-joy guy I’d always known.”
Now in its 13th year, Wear A Hat Day has raised more than £2 million for Brain Tumour Research to help fund the fight against the disease. To support Paul’s fundraiser, CLICK HERE
