Paisley dad died after brain tumour caused odd behaviour

Jim Miller, 49, from Paisley, died just four months after being diagnosed as he suffered a “rapid decline” which his family said was “horrible to watch”.

His daughter, Barbara Graham, first urged him to see a GP after noticing his “odd behaviour” which included him sleeping at work, struggling to drive and becoming confused.

Barbara and Jim (Image: Sourced)

The 48-year-old, from Kilbarchan, was then heartbroken when doctors revealed he had a brain tumour before he died in January 1994.

Barbara was furious not enough was known about his condition 28 years ago, and still doesn’t believe enough is known today.

Now she is hoping to raise awareness and funding to stop other families going through the same pain.

Jim Miller died from brain tumour (Image: Sourced)

Barbara said: “Dad went through such a rapid decline, it was horrible to watch.

“His whole quality of life crumbled.

“Dad would put things in the wrong places, such as soap powder in the fridge.

“He would sleep a lot more, his boss even found him asleep at his desk.

“I was in total shock and everything started happening so quickly.

“He was also losing a lot of weight so he became too weak to have any treatment.

“I was devastated and angry at the lack of knowledge there was about brain tumours, and I’m disappointed not enough is known now.

“Much more work is needed to be done in this area. I just pray something like this doesn’t happen to me.”

Barbara and her colleagues at the HMRC call centre in East Kilbride are now taking part in Wear A Hat Day for the charity Brain Tumour Research on Friday, March 31.

The event encourages people to don hats of all shapes and sizes on the last Friday in March as part of its flagship Wear a Hat Day fundraiser, which has raised more than £2 million to help fund vital research into brain tumours.

Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re really grateful to Barbara for taking part in Wear A Hat Day as it’s only with the support of people like her that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Jim who are forced to fight this awful disease.

“People can get involved in Wear A Hat Day in so many fun and easy ways, the list really is endless. Wear a hat and hold a walk, a party, a quiz night or a bake sale. Or get your thinking cap on and come up with something totally unique.”

People are invited to pop a hat on, make a donation and take a selfie to share on social media using #WearAHatDay. To take part as a community, school or workplace visit www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/wear-a-hat-day.