Man on walk celebration a year after brain operation

Steve and Charlotte Joynes are raising money for Shine

A man recovering from a brain tumour is embarking on a 5k walk to celebrate rebuilding his life whilst fundraising for charity.

Steve Joynes, from Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, said he was found to have a brain tumour "the size of a lime" following a routine eye test in 2023.

The 48-year-old underwent a 14-hour operation to remove the tumour, but developed hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain.

All the money raised through the walk on Sunday will be donated to Shine, a charity which Mr Joynes said provided "invaluable" help to him and his family.

Prior to his diagnosis, Mr Joynes was experiencing headaches, but thought it was due to stress at work.

The discovery of a tumour came as a "shock" to him, but surgeons at Southmead Hospital were able to remove the majority of it, leaving just 1% of the growth left.

'Out of the blue'

After the first surgery, Mr Joynes' brain "wasn't coping", his wife said.

Mrs Joynes said her husband was "very confused for several weeks", including being forgetful of his whereabouts and his children's birthdays.

Further tests revealed he had fluid building up, putting pressure on his brain. He was diagnosed with hydrocephalus.

Surgeons performed another operation and implanted a shunt - a thin tube - into his brain to drain the excess fluid.

"As soon as a shunt was draining and doing its job, we had Steve back," Mrs Joynes said.

"We hadn’t even heard of hydrocephalus - it came completely out of the blue to us."

She added the amount of uncertainty and the couple's lack of understanding of the condition made them feel "isolated" and "scared".

During Mr Joynes' recovery, they discovered Shine, a charity which provides advice and support for those living with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

Mrs Joynes said: "[Shine has] given us so much support and this is why we’re arranging the walk because we want to give something back to a charity that doesn’t have a big voice."

"They were there when we needed somebody," Mr Joynes added.

'A celebration'

At 11:00 BST on Sunday, nearly 100 of the couple's friends and relatives will be joining the 5k walk around Lower Slaughter.

“When I first came out of hospital, I struggled to walk at all," Mr Joynes said.

"It’s been quite a challenge to get back walking again and we thought it’s the ideal thing to do."

Mrs Joynes added the accessibility of the challenge meant many people could join in.

"It's also a celebration," she said.

"It’s a year since Steve’s surgery so it means we can get together to celebrate, when he couldn’t obviously last year.

“Everybody is welcome to come and join us."