Mum continues daughter's fundraising legacy

The mother of a woman who died from a brain tumour has vowed to continue her fundraising legacy to make sure she is "never forgotten".

Abbi Hewitson, 31, from Hartlepool, died on Christmas Eve in 2025 after being diagnosed with the tumour in 2019.

During her treatment, she raised more than £8,000 for the neurosurgery department at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Her mother Nicola Hewitson has given dozens of toys for children receiving care at University Hospital of Hartlepool in her memory.

Abbi was diagnosed with a low-grade glioma, a type of tumour made up from supportive tissue of the brain, after experiencing her first seizure in 2018.

She had multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

While receiving treatment, she raised thousand of pounds for the James Cook neurosurgery department and Macmillan Cancer Charity.

Nicola said she was "very proud to be her mam".

She said Abbi "just loved life" and was a "massive personality, funny, sensitive, such a kind, generous person".

"With her diagnosis she wanted to raise awareness and raise funds for other people," she said.

"She made a massive impact - my family members have done the Great North Run, jumped out of planes, had numerous fundraiser parties and auctions, she's raised a lot of money."

Recently Nicola donated a large amount of toys to a children's ward at the University Hospital of Hartlepool, where she works, as well as money to other local charities.

Consultant neurosurgeon at James Cook Anil Varma treated Abbi since she received her diagnosis and described her as "full of life" and "very positive".

In his office, he has a framed T-shirt from one of her fundraising walks "as a reminder of how resilient she is".

He said patients like her who fundraised for the department enabled it to carry out new procedures.

Nicola also wants to raise awareness of brain tumours which, according to The Brain Tumour Brain Charity, are the biggest cancer killer of children and young adults under 40 in the UK.

She said she wanted to "just keep educating people" and it was a" massive area within cancer research that gets so little help".

"Things need to change and hopefully the government is starting to listen now, they need to release more funds, more education and more research into this," she said.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government had "listened to the long-standing calls for greater action on brain tumours" and through its £25m investment in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, was "seeking to transform outcomes for adults and children living with brain tumours".

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