A CUMBRIAN family who tragically lost their son during treatment for a brain tumour have tackled another epic challenge to honour their beloved baby boy, smashing their fundraising target.

Rory was born in May 2019 to parents Amy and Matt Hall, who had met whilst working at the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, where Matt worked and Amy had moved to as an actor.

At the age of four months the family began to notice that Rory had a slight squint in one of his eyes.

Amy took her baby son to the GP and later an eye specialist, who referred Rory to a children's hospital, who told the family that baby Rory had a tumour.

Following some treatment Rory was taken for surgery to remove as much of the tumour as could be from his brain, with a biopsy revealing the tumour was cancerous.

Doctors gave Rory chemotherapy, but the intensity of the treatment became too much for his young body, with Rory passing away at the age of seven and a half months in January 2020.

Matt and Amy with their baby son Rory

Their latest fundraising venture which they completed on Sunday, June 16 saw them take on the Lakesman triathlon.

Matt, Amy and Jim (Rory’s uncle) participated in the relay event for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) and raising £5,000 in memory of the much loved baby boy.

Amy and Matt Hall said: "We can’t quite believe we actually finished The Lakesman, and 6 hours 18 minutes is even better than we could have hoped for. We have no doubt that it was our little Rory and the love for him that our friends and family brought to the day that kept us going.

"People shouted for us and Rory, put up dinosaur signs (his mascot) and a few even came dressed as dinosaurs. 

"And of course, what made us so determined was the thought that the money raised is going to such an important cause, to try and find kinder, more effective treatments for other children facing cancer diagnoses like Rory’s. 

"We are overwhelmed that we’ve smashed through £5,000 and counting. We can’t thank people enough for their support.

"It’s been an incredible experience. We thought we would finish the triathlon and never want to repeat it but… watch this space."