Humans of Warwick - Scott Crowther

Scott Crowther

Innovation Manager, WMG

"Our son Ben was stolen by cancer when he was seven years old."

“I joined WMG in January 2012, knowing my wife was pregnant and I would be asking for paternity leave within a few months. Thankfully the department was supportive, I was granted leave and Ben, our third son, was born that March. I’ve always felt he had a deep connection with the University because of this timing.

Ben was a bright, happy and cheeky boy who loved reading, animals, food, art and games. He was always smiling and playing pranks, a whoopee cushion was never far away. He really loved the Beano, we nicknamed him ‘Bennis the Menace’ after his comic book hero, Dennis.

In June 2018, everything changed. Ben then six, developed breathing difficulties. After a quick GP visit, we found ourselves in the oncology ward at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. He was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, an unpronounceable and aggressive soft tissue cancer. During a full year of brutal chemotherapy treatment, he carried on doing what kids do and was full of smiles and mischief. Even when first diagnosed and incredibly unwell, he wanted to cheer people up, passing his smile to his friends through photographs or video calls.

He was the bravest and strongest little boy and wanted to be a superhero or an astronaut and fly into space. He died in June 2019, gaining his superhero wings. He will be forever 7, and we miss him enormously every day.

Treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma has not advanced for decades and survival rates are shockingly poor. It shouldn't be like this. Our family set up ‘Pass the Smile’ as a charitable fund in Ben’s name. Focussed on raising money to fund research into kinder, targeted treatments so that other families don’t have to go through what we did. Working here, I recognise the importance of well-funded research to make technology, treatment and knowledge advances.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and we’re hoping to pass our £300,000 raised milestone very soon. We run a lot of fun, family-friendly events to reflect Ben’s character and his amazing smile. And we’ve eaten a lot of cake and party rings, his favourite biscuits, we know he’d approve of that! Our favourite fundraisers are the ones organised by Ben’s school friends. It’s very humbling and heart-warming to have his friends remember him by having fun.

As well as fundraising, I use the experience I’ve gained in my job to try and make a difference too. I’ve helped academics win funding for their rhabdomyosarcoma research projects, I attend conferences to raise awareness of childhood cancer priorities, and I sit on steering groups for research charities and the UK tissue bank. The support of my colleagues at Warwick really helps. As does working part-time and from home, allowing me to visit Ben’s tree when I need to, and to invest time into the charity.

Ben leaves a big hole in our family, and an empty chair at our table. He lives on in our hearts, and his legacy is still touching the lives of people he met, and even those who never had that pleasure. Sometimes people are reluctant to talk to us about Ben, not wanting to cause any upset or being afraid of saying the wrong thing. Please don’t, we talk about him every day. He’ll never be forgotten. We promised him this.”