Everything changed in an instant just as things were falling into place
A young family is desperately trying to squeeze “20 years of life” into a few months.
Every walk, every family day out and every bedtime story has taken on a new meaning for Kris Bennett and his partner Hollie Boswell. Just a year ago, the Gravesend couple believed life was finally falling into place.
Kris, 38, had recently started his own painting and decorating business, bought a work van and was looking forward to raising their growing family when everything changed. The nightmare began during a three-week family holiday in Turkey last July when he developed persistent headaches.
At first he blamed stress and then an ear infection picked up while swimming with his children. After returning home, doctors initially suspected cluster headaches and arranged further tests. But days later, while celebrating Hollie’s birthday at a spa, he suddenly lost his speech.
“I came out of the water and tried to speak to Hollie, but all my speech was slurred,” Kris recalled. “I laughed it off the first time, but then it happened again.”
A scan at hospital revealed a tumour measuring about 5cm on the left side of his brain. He was transferred to King’s College Hospital, London, where he underwent further tests before having an eight-hour awake craniotomy on September 3.
Throughout the operation, surgeons asked him to complete memory, language and recognition tests while removing as much of the tumour as possible. They had hoped to remove around 70%, but successfully took out 85%.
The remaining tumour, however, was embedded in healthy brain tissue and could not be safely removed. Days later, following the biopsy results, the family received the devastating news that the tumour was a grade 4 brain cancer with a life expectancy of just 12 to 18 months.
“It was the biggest shock of my life,” Kris said. “I was told it was incurable and that I had 12 to 18 months to live.”
Despite the devastating diagnosis, another life-changing moment was just around the corner. As doctors discussed preserving Kris’s fertility before chemotherapy and radiotherapy, believing treatment could affect their chances of having more children, the couple thought their plans for a bigger family were over.
“I like to tell this story,” Kris added. “We did not realise Hollie was already pregnant.
“While we were making all these decisions, Sienna was already being made. She’s the biggest blessing ever. She’s got my blue eyes, fair hair like mine and she’s the spitting image of me.”
The couple are also raising their boys Toby, six, and Riley, two. Kris is currently undergoing chemotherapy, which is expected to continue until December. Only then will doctors know whether he could be eligible for further surgery, clinical trials or other treatments.
“My head doesn’t allow me to stop fighting,” he said. “We’ve heard stories about people with the same tumour living much longer than expected. As long as there are options, we’ll keep looking.”
The diagnosis has transformed every aspect of the family’s lives. Kris was forced to close the decorating business he had worked so hard to build, sell his work van and surrender his driving licence because of the risk of seizures. He now depends on Hollie for almost everything.
“My life disappeared overnight,” he said. “I lost my work, my independence and a huge part of my identity.
“The hardest thing is thinking about leaving my family. Every time I think about my children, I struggle to breathe.”
Hollie is currently on maternity leave after welcoming Sienna in May. Before giving birth, she had already cut back her working hours to care for Kris and accompany him to hospital appointments.
After losing his income, the family say even everyday expenses have become a struggle while raising three young children. Wanting to help, family friend Jerry Mackenzie launched a GoFundMe appeal after seeing how dramatically their lives had changed.
In the appeal, he described Kris as “the most devoted partner”, “an amazing dad” and someone who had always been the first to help others without expecting anything in return. The fundraiser aims to ease the financial pressures caused by Kris’s illness, including travel to hospital appointments, everyday living costs and, in the future, funeral expenses.
Most importantly, it is helping the couple fulfil one of their biggest wishes by allowing them to plan the wedding they had always dreamed of while creating precious memories with their children. The appeal has also inspired strangers to offer their support.
One holiday park owner has offered the family the use of a caravan free of charge, giving them the chance to enjoy time away together without worrying about the cost. A charity football tournament is also being organised to raise money for the family.
Kick for Kris, hosted by Meopham Colts FC, where six-year-old Toby plays, will take place at Judson’s Recreational Ground, Wrotham Road, Meopham, on Sunday, August 30, from 9am to 1pm. The event will feature under-sevens and under-eights teams, with all proceeds going towards supporting the Bennett family.
Anyone wishing to support Kris, Hollie, Toby, Riley and Sienna can also donate through the family’s GoFundMe page. For now, the family’s focus remains not on counting the months, but on making every single day matter.
“We’re making memories,” Hollie said. “That’s all we want to do.”
Kris added: “There are birthdays to celebrate, a wedding to plan, holidays to enjoy and three young children to love. We’re trying to fit 20 years of life into such a short amount of time.”
