Latest painting is of the beautiful model Keleigh-Marie Snelgrove _ Keleigh’s scar story in her own words

“My scar story began just before Christmas 2016 when my left eyelid began to droop. Trips to and tablets from the GP did nothing and an eventual trip to the Eye Emergency Unit at Southampton General, led to a diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis.

To explain briefly, it’s a neuro-muscular condition where the brain and muscles have what I call ‘relationship issues’.

I began to see a Consultant Neurologist who arranged for CT scans and in May 2017, he called me to tell me I had a tumour of the Thymus gland called a Thymoma.

I didn’t really have time to think about it, only to prepare and make everything simple for my Husband if the worst happened. I had no hesitation about the operation. It was a no-brainer really.

The Sternotomy (open chest surgery) was done that July, where surgeons discovered the tumour had wrapped itself around my left vocal cord, my left lung and attached to my pericardium (heart lining). They managed to remove it all together with my Thymus gland. A later biopsy study revealed it was malignant (stage 2-3).

I then spent 12 weeks of recovery in a post thorax vest before 5.5 weeks of radiotherapy. I do still have Myasthenia and the surgery/treatments have taken their toll but I am cancer-free to date.

The Consultant, a specialist in Myasthenia, saved my life and with his team, has taken excellent care of me since.

Myasthenia is classed as a rare condition but it can have a dramatic effect on a life e.g. with swallowing, breathing, eyesight, speech, and muscles may function less effectively or not at all, in which case, it can be fatal.

Many day to day factors can affect a patient and

for this reason I want to raise money for Myaware, https://www.myaware.org/

Without them, there would be no Specialist Nurses who, required for people to receive the best and most efficient care for this condition.”