"The mother of my child was fighting for her life": Mum dies two weeks after headache led to devastating brain tumour diagnosis

A mum died just two weeks after doctors discovered a deadly brain tumour. A severe headache was the only symptom Nicolette Richardson suffered, by which time it was already too late.

The 41-year-old - who was mum to Isabella who was three at the time - developed a sudden pain in her head on November 16, 2020. She visited her GP the following day to be told it was a migraine, and she put it down to the stress and physical demands of her osteopath business.

However, Nicolette was advised to go to Charing Cross Hospital if her headache didn't improve with painkillers - so she went later that day. After an MRI, Nicolette was given the devastating diagnosis that she had a stage four glioblastoma brain tumour - the most aggressive form of brain cancer.

Her partner, osteopath business owner, Austen Ham-Howes, 45, from Twickenham, southwest London, said: “One minute, we were viewing houses where we planned to build a future together - the next, Nicolette was taken ill. Suddenly, I was thrust into a world where the mother of my child was fighting for her life.”

Six days later, she had emergency surgery - which left her with catastrophic injuries including paralysis on the left side of her body, blindness in one eye and partial sight loss in the other. She died on November 30, 2020, after being placed into a coma after her surgery.

“I was just so angry and confused,” Austen said. “Nicolette had zero symptoms, yet our whole lives were turned upside down in just weeks and we were cheated of the chance to have a fair fight against this disease.

“I know it was wrong, but I felt so jealous of people who had time to come to terms with this devastating disease. For us, it felt as quick as ripping off a plaster.”

Five years on, Austen and Isabella have been fundraising for Brain Tumour Research, in memory of Nicolette. He has been donating £2 from every treatment carried out at Richmond Osteopaths, Nicolette’s business, during this Brain Tumour Awareness Month which takes place in March.

Austen says he and Isabella are now trying to “live with positivity” and honour Nicolette every day. He added: “Isabella is Nicolette’s mini-me and she is now eight years old. We have both supported each other to get to where we are today.

“We try to live with positivity, and we try to honour her mum every single day. I’d love for there to one day be a cure for all types of brain tumours so that no-one has to experience what we went through.”

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Nicolette’s story is incredibly moving and we’re grateful to Austen for sharing it with us. It’s a stark reminder that brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.

“It’s only by working together that we can change this. We fully support Austen’s fundraising and would like to thank him and the team at Richmond Osteopaths for their support.”