A BEREAVED man who lost his wife to a brain tumour trekked through the Borneo jungle to raise money for a charity close to his heart.
Glenn Karpel from Warfield, Bracknell wanted to challenge himself to mark the second anniversary of losing his beloved wife Penny Rowland, who died in September 2017.
Since losing his wife, the 64-year-old set up the fundraising group 'In for a Penny' under the umbrella charity Brain Tumour Research.
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He said: "I was with Penny every moment of a really horrendous experience. There was never going to be a good ending. She taught me such a lot - she was never angry or morose, always positive right up until the end. It was a tremendous lesson.
"It made me determined to find a dangerous challenge, which would push me to the limit to help raise awareness of the desperate need for research to find better outcomes for brain tumour patients and ultimately a cure."
Penny, who was a former dancing instructor, was diagnosed with a low-grade glioma brain tumour in 2009 following a blackout.
She was plagued with severe dizziness over the years and by 2015, she needed to use a stick to help her with her balance.
After countless treatments and chemotherapy, the couple were told the heartbreaking news that there was nothing else that could be done to help.
In her last few weeks, Penny lost her mobility, her speech and ability to swallow and she slowly slipped into a coma while her husband and two daughters were by her bedside.
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Glenn added: "I wore Penny's ring on a chain around my neck and felt her presence. I did not want to let her down, even as I felt myself each day getting weaker, more exhausted and bizarrely really dizzy. The loss of balance I experienced made me realise just how scary it must have been for Penny." After hiking through the jungle, avoiding poisonous snakes and being stung by a fire ant and removing a leech from his thumb - Glenn learnt a lot from his experience.
Paula Rastrick, community fundraising manager at Brain Tumour Research for the central region, said: “We are very thankful to Glenn for his support and for taking on this challenge to raise awareness and funds."
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