'Super fit' dad's devastating diagnosis after suffering headaches

A "chatty, lively" dad who friends say was "the fittest" among their friendship group has received a devastating diagnosis.

Owen Browell, 41, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in February. The cancer is at an advanced stage and doctors say it is incurable.

Owen, who is originally from Greasby in Wirral, lives in Darlington with his wife Lindsey and kids Ava, 12 and Freya, seven. He comes back to Merseyside regularly to see his mum, dad and brother in Wirral, as well as his group of childhood friends.

READ MORE: 'Chocolate-box' village an hour from Liverpool that's the 'perfect day trip'

READ MORE: 'Fatal' £10 drugs crisis young lads are falling victim to on Liverpool streets

Among that gang of friends is David Southgate, also from Greasby, who was best man at Owen's wedding. Owen and David met when they were in their early teens and then lived together while studying at the University of Central Lancashire.

Speaking to the ECHO, David said he has been bowled over by his friend's "strength, resilience and positivity" in dealing with with his illness.

He said: "Owen's such a lively, chatty, positive person. His mindset is remarkable and it's amazing how he's handled it - it's rubbed off on all of us."

Owen, who was a primary school teacher for 15 years before moving to work for an academy trust, began getting headaches at the start of this year. One day in January, Owen felt so unwell he had to come home from work.

For a man like Owen - an ultramarathon runner who David describes as "the fittest of our group" - getting ill was very unusual.

David explained: "Luckily, when he came home from work that day, the dog walker was there to see him and noticed Owen wasn't able to stand."

Owen was taken to hospital. Doctors there suspected he had encephalitis, a serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed. But subsequent tests revealed he had a brain tumour.

Medics originally thought it was a slow-growing tumour, but Owen's headaches got worse and in February, he was placed in an artificial coma. His friends and family were told to prepare for the worst.

Owen rallied and went through a major operation to remove as much of the tumour as possible. Unfortunately, doctors discovered the cancer had spread, and at this point Owen learned it was at an advanced stage.

He has since undergone two rounds of chemotherapy and is waiting to find out if this has been successful.

Now, says David, Owen is focused on "spending quality time with his wife and kids" and enjoying life. His Wirral friends are keen to help with that in any way they can.

A few weeks ago, they managed to get Arsenal fan Owen tickets to see the Gunners play Bayern Munich in London. The friends are currently raising money for him to go to Euro Disney with Lindsey and the kids. On Sunday, a couple are doing a half-marathon in Leamington Spa in aid of Owen.

David said: "Our friends asked Owen what his girls' favourite Disney characters are. So when they're running, one of them will dress up as Princess Jasmine and the other as Aladdin."

The Wirral friends have set up a Go Fund Me page for Owen and his family, which has already raised over £7,000. To visit the page, click here.

Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here