By Isobel Williams via SWNS
A man stayed awake during an eight-hour operation on his brain – and played the guitar.
Colin Miller, 64, strummed chords on his acoustic while going under the knife at King’s College Hospital in London.
He was diagnosed with a life-limiting glioblastoma (GBM) in October 2023 after the left side of his face went into spasm on his way from a holiday in Cyprus.
The amateur musician, who spent four decades working as an IT consultant, had an operation just over a year ago to remove the golf-ball-sized tumor on his brain.
When given the option, Miller, from Herne Bay, Kent, decided to stay awake and play guitar throughout the surgery.
He said: “I was given a choice of being awake or asleep for the procedure.
“The doctor questioned how I use motor movements on my left side, and I told him I play the guitar.
“So not to lose mobility in my hand and fingers, they asked me to bring in my guitar and I was woken up part way through my surgery and played different tunes.
“I couldn’t process playing any familiar songs but strummed chords. The whole experience was fascinating.”
Miller has since had chemotherapy and radiotherapy and is now monitored with scans.
It’s only recently that he has been able to return to playing with the Herne Bay Baptist Church band, occasionally singing.
He added: “Speaking and singing are two different skills. My brain takes a while to process during conversations but when I’m singing, I can perform the lyrics well.”
Now, the musician is fundraising to help find a cure for other brain tumor patients on a month-long challenge to raise awareness of the disease.
Miller is over halfway through the 99 Miles in November challenge in aid of Brain Tumour Research – having walked 65 miles so far.
He added: “I’ve always been keen on walking and for this challenge I have a spreadsheet of all my walks so far, and I’m averaging six miles each day.
“I had to give up my driving license, but I can still move my body, and I feel blessed to be able to do so in support of the brain tumor community.
“I’ve been struck with emotion upon reading the stories shared amongst the group on Facebook.
“I truly believe that investing into research will lead us to finding kinder treatments and eventually a cure for this devastating disease.”
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Colin’s story is a reminder that brain tumors are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age.
“We’re grateful to Colin for sharing his story including an insight into his diagnosis we often don’t see.
“Colin is generous in both sharing his story and giving his time to walking throughout the whole of November. We’d like to wish him well with his ongoing scans and for the rest of his challenge.”
