Bexhill dad honours wife’s brave battle against fatal illness

Lee Redfearn’s wife Camilla died in March 2018 after a long battle with Neurofibromatosis type 2.

The former St Richard’s Catholic College and Bexhill College student was diagnosed with the genetic condition in early 2008 and underwent an operation to have a brain tumour removed in May the same year.

Lee said she recovered well and, in August 2009, gave birth to their son Freddie, who is now nine.

After Camilla’s death, Lee and Freddie wanted to honour Camilla’s ‘spirit of bravery, humour and generosity’.

They will be doing this by raising money for NF2 – the neuro foundation helping research – and Guy’s hospital which helped Camilla battle her illness.

Lee said: “Your support means that Camilla will live on even more fully in our hearts and minds and serve as a testament to a truly brave and wonderful young lady.

“Please give whatever you can, no amount is too small.”

In the years after Freddie’s birth, Camilla had several other benign tumours in her brain and on her spine.

Lee said: “The tumours affected her ability to speak, walk, see and hear with ever increasing severity. Towards the end of 2017, she was told two of the tumours in her brain had grown and she would go blind if she did not have them removed.”

On her 37th birthday (January 5, 2018), Camilla was taken to hospital suffering with a chest infection and was told she would only survive eight days.

However, she kept fighting until March 10 when she died of sepsis and pneumonia as a result of complications with her illness.

Lee, who married Camilla in 2011, said of his wife: “She was good fun and never moaned about her illness. She was a great wife and she was also a great mum. She always thought about other people and I wish I could be more like her.”

Lee described his wife as ‘an amazing mum’ to Freddie.

He added: “She was a thoughtful and attentive auntie too and despite her reduced mobility, was always organising days out for the kids and never let her illness get in the way of attending sports days, nativities and all the things those of more fortunate in terms of physical capability take for granted.”

To dontate, visit www.gofundme.com/camilla-forever-foundation

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