All of us at Oscar’s send our love and best wishes to the family of Nate Gidman as on September 30th they reached the first of Nate’s birthdays without him. Nate passed away on February 7^th at the age of just five, the same age as Milo, having been diagnosed with a medulloblastoma, the same type of brain tumour as Oscar.

A chatty, cheeky little boy, Nate was imaginative, full of fun and ‘the life and soul of the party’, In September 2020, though, his parents, Phil and Nicola, noticed he was being sick regularly at the same time every day.

Initially they were told this daily sickness was due to stomach problems and Nate was sent away with Gaviscon. Symptoms didn’t improve and when Nate’s eyes turned inward, his parents took him to a GP, who said it was an aggressive viral reaction, prescribing more sickness medication. Mum and Dad, not happy with this, asked for a further opinion where a scan revealed Nate had a mass in his head. Surgeons in Nottingham operated and managed to safely remove 90% of the tumour. This was followed by an intensive cycle of high dose chemotherapy and targeted radiation for most of the year, which caused hair loss and hearing damage.

Devastatingly, on November 16^th last year, his family were given the heart-breaking news that the cancer was terminal and he passed away less than three months later. Dad Phil posted on the day he died, “It is with a profound sadness that I say that at 3:11 this morning our Nate died. As unexpected this soon, it was peaceful and both me and mum were there. Your love has been phenomenal. We love you with all our hearts, sleep well and dream big son.”

The family were overwhelmed by the support and loving wishes sent by followers of Nate’s journey, particularly those of Tranmere Rovers FC who collected for charity on Nate’s behalf, had him as guest of honour and whose players made a poignant gesture of holding up a personalised shirt after scoring in the first match after Nate’s death, fittingly during a 5^th minute round of applause for Nate by the crowd at Prenton Park.

We highlight Nate’s story because it is important to understand the real stories that drive us as a charity. It is essential that funding is increased to help survival rates for paediatric brain tumours, to help improve the effects of treatment and to support and care for children and families before, during and after diagnosis.

We send all our love to Phil, Nicola, Nate’s two older brothers and the rest of Nate’s family in these unimaginably tough times.