Tributes paid to Crayford carpenter Josh Warner who died from brain cancer
The family of a “funny” and “kind-hearted” young dad whose brain cancer was misdiagnosed as appendicitis has paid tribute to him.
Joshua Warner died from a brain tumour on Sunday, September 17, surrounded by his family.
His mum Eve Pateman said: “Josh was fun, he loved making people laugh.
“He was a prankster, and had a beautiful soul and a really kind heart and I think that was why most people fell in love with him. He touched people’s hearts.
“He was an amazing dad, brother and a brilliant son. He was just a fantastic man.
“He was so very brave, I cannot quantify how brave he was through all of this. He never moaned. I think I would be feeling sorry for myself, but he never once did that.
“He wanted to share his story as he did not want anyone else to not be believed and he wanted to highlight the symptoms of a brain tumour.
"He did not want another person to go through what he went through. We quickly began working with Brain Tumour research. He just wanted to give even during his hardest time.”
Joshua, 25, first knew something was wrong when he started getting headaches and was suffering from sickness in late June.
It persisted for two weeks so his dad Dave took him to Darent Valley Hospital, in Dartford, for tests and a CT scan where the doctors told him he had appendicitis, despite having no stomach pain.
He went into surgery to have his appendix removed but a few hours after he arrived home he was re-admitted as he was still sick.
Another scan showed an anomaly on his brain, but Joshua was told that it was an issue with the machine and he was discharged again.
He continued to go back and forth to the emergency department but was continually turned away.
The dad, to four-year-old Andrew, then collapsed in his grandparents’ bathroom and was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Woolwich, where he was given another CT scan.
The medics compared the results with those from Darent Valley Hospital and saw they were the same and sent the self-employed carpenter for an urgent MRI.
In less than 24 hours, he was told he had a large brain tumour which had spread from the right side of his brain to the back and brain stem. He was moved to an oncology ward.
Joshua, who lived in Crayford, had a biopsy on September 5 and was diagnosed with a diffuse midline glioma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer.
His family were told that he had 3 months to live, but he only made it another 12 days and died at Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice.
The medical examiner has told Eve a report is being sent to the coroner’s office. Eve added: “There is no question about the cause of his death, but it is because of his treatment and to see if there were any missed opportunities.”
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer. Yet, just 1% of the national spending on cancer research has been allocated to this disease since records began in 2002.
A fundraising page was set up to support Joshua through this treatment and raised almost £20,000. The money will now be put into a fund for his son Andrew. You can donate here.
Eve, from Bexleyheath, said: “We have been massively supported by the community and our family. People have been unbelievably generous. I have just been overwhelmed by the generosity of businesses and people.
“It was Joshua’s wish for the money raised to go into a trust fund for his son. It is a really beautiful legacy he has been able to leave him.
“He loved his son so very much and it is heartbreaking to see Andrew asking where his dad is.”
Joshua’s funeral is being held on Friday, October 13. The cars will be leaving from Sherwood Park Avenue, in Sidcup, DA15 9HX, at around 1.15pm, and heading to Kemnal Park Cemetery.
At the time of his diagnosis, his family felt let down by Darenth Valley Hospital and were in the process of filing a complaint following the dad-of-one’s care.
Speaking previously, a spokesman for the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust said it was in the process of examining the case in greater detail.