Loch Lomond Water Ski Club raise over £2k for Dumbarton man

After Dumbarton man Kenny Collins was diagnosed last year, members of Loch Lomond Water Ski Club dressed as Santa, elves and a giant flamingo on New Year's Day to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

to raise money for the charity Brain Tumour Research to help find a cure for the disease. (Image: Newsquest)

We previously told that Kenny suffered from tinnitus and headaches caused by stress for more than three years but repeat visits to the GP provided no answers.

But on September 9 last year, the 43-year-old's life was thrown into chaos when he was taken to hospital after collapsing. 

A CT scan confirmed there was a 3cm mass on his brain and Kenny was taken in immediately for emergency surgery.

READ NEXT: Friends raise funds as dad-of-two Kenny fights for life in hospital

Following an MRI scan on September 19, the former rock band frontman underwent a nine-hour surgery to remove the shadowed mass on the back left-hand side of his brain and he has remained in hospital since.

To add to the nightmare, the dad-of-two had recently resigned from his teaching job and was about to embark on his “dream career” working with vulnerable young people. 

Kenny Collins with his wife Lynsey (Image: Newsquest)

Following a cheque presentation last week Kenny’s father-in-law, Campbell Cavana, who is on the water ski club’s committee said: “I’m really pleased we managed to raise £2,396.

"So little government funding goes to brain tumours, it’s a mere fraction of national cancer spend. Brain tumours need parity with other forms of cancer so we can get closer to better treatments and ultimately find a cure. It’s such a shock how someone’s life can change so much, so quickly because of this devastating disease.

“We were all so shocked when we found out. We expected Kenny to have an operation and get fixed, but he had a lot of complications."

Campbell Cavana on a boat (Image: Brain Tumour Research) (Image: Brain Tumour Research)

Campbell added: “Kenny’s wound became infected; he developed meningitis and many further complications thereafter which has made his recovery very difficult. He had a total of 10 operations during his four months in hospital, spending most of his time between intensive care and high dependency.”

In December, Kenny had a shunt fitted to drain excess fluid from his brain. He continues to undergo rehabilitation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Lynsey Collins, with her children and her parents presented the cheque (Image: Newsquest)

Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are so sorry to learn about Kenny’s diagnosis and we wish him the very best with his rehabilitation.

"We are really grateful to Campbell and everyone who took part in the fancy dress water ski as it’s only with the support of people like them that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Kenny who are forced to fight this awful disease.”