A father of three tragically passed away just months after the birth of his third child. Sam Bravo-Hibberd, 34, began to show physical symptoms of inoperable glioblastoma, also known as GBM, shortly after his daughter Alejandria was born.
These included headaches and confusion, which were initially dismissed by doctors, according to his family. His wife Mauricee, who was pregnant at the time, thought that the changes she saw in his personality were due to her own hormones.
Initially, doctors attributed his migraines to the stress of being a new father, the family claim. However, two months later, Sam received the devastating diagnosis of GBM and was told he only had weeks to live.
Sam, who lived in Cambridgeshire, underwent surgery and radiotherapy in an attempt to extend his life and spend more time with his young family. Unfortunately, his brain cancer was particularly aggressive, and he passed away in February this year.
His death has left his family devastated. Despite his illness, Sam worked with the charity Brain Tumour Research last year, alongside his wife, to raise awareness of the disease and the charity's mission to find a cure.
Mauricee spoke to the charity while they were still crowdfunding for alternative treatments not available on the NHS. She disclosed how their "hectic family life" came almost to a standstill following the diagnosis, saying: "We used to take our kids to quite a lot of after school clubs too, which we've had to cancel since Sam's diagnosis.
"Gabriel, our two-year-old, played football with a local club and Theo, who is 13, had acting club, cadets and karate. Sam used to do most of the running around because he worked locally in recruitment whereas I have a substantial role in healthcare about an hour away and work longer hours."
"I'm currently on maternity leave having had our daughter, Alejandria, three months ago and am now also Sam's full-time carer." Looking back, she claimed that Sam's symptoms had started to appear nearly a year before they knew what was wrong.
Most Read
At the time, she attributed his behaviour to her own hormonal changes during a "difficult pregnancy". She remembered thinking: "It was like living with Jekyll and Hyde".
She recounted the changes in how he treated her, his memory of events, and his waning interest in previously enjoyed activities. Mauricee noted: "He also struggled to hold down a job and even joked about changes in his accent and laughter which, in hindsight, were all symptoms of the tumour silently growing in his head."
When Sam began showing physical symptoms, not long after their daughter was born, Mauricee found him collapsed on the floor from a severe headache. Despite this, he refused to seek immediate medical attention at A&E.
The next day, she managed to get her husband to a GP who she said diagnosed him with migraines due to "sleep deprivation from having a newborn". Despite having raised two other children with Sam, Mauricee felt this time was different - but her requests for an MRI scan were, she claims, ignored.
A few weeks later, their eldest son Theo started showing alarming symptoms including a lump at the back of his ear and a swollen jaw. When Mauricee took him to A&E, she also signed in her husband.
Theo was diagnosed with a deep skull base infection and blood clots in his neck. Meanwhile, Sam was lost and wandering around the hospital until Mauricee found him with the help of a nurse.
Mauricee continued: "Sam did get seen by a doctor about six and half hours later. His physical assessment and bloodwork came back normal, and they were just going to send him home. I was distraught and couldn't stop crying. I begged the doctor for a CT scan, and pleaded with the nurse who found Sam to speak to the doctor and get him to believe there was something wrong with him. Sam was eventually sent for the scan."
Don’t miss
The diagnosis of a brain tumour confirmed Mauricee's fears that she "wasn't going crazy". But she was devastated, while her confused husband believed they had returned to the hospital because she was unwell.
Both Theo and Sam were in the hospital, Gabriel was at her sister's, and Alejandria was still breastfeeding. Mauricee's medical training was put to the test as she navigated a path filled with treatments, surgeries, and recovery periods - or so she anticipated.
"The neurosurgeon told us Sam's tumour, a glioblastoma, was inoperable and it was unlikely an oncologist would take his case on because of how aggressive his cancer was and how poor his baseline function was," Mauricee said. "This ruled out radiotherapy and chemo."
In search of help, the couple sought additional medical opinions, which led to a biopsy. Mauricee shared that she worked with the surgical team to arrange an open biopsy, which resulted in the removal of nearly 40% of the tumour.
Regrettably, the biopsy indicated that Sam's GBM was less responsive to chemotherapy, and a subsequent MRI revealed rapid regrowth of the tumour into the previously excised area, with further progression. While Mauricee was actively fundraising for alternative treatments during her interview with Brain Tumour Research, she expressed a poignant wish: "When the inevitable happens and Sam's no longer with us, I want him to be talked about in a way that puts focus on brain tumour research and gives his life more purpose."
The GoFundMe page remains live to "keep Sam's supporters updated on the progress of his legacy with the Brain Tumour Research Charity, raise awareness and hopefully facilitate early diagnosis of those suffering the same. More importantly, to keep his memory alive and for his children growing up to see how brave and loved their father was. Forever grateful to you all."