Twenty years on.

I celebrated my 54th birthday this week and it's a bit of a thing for me to be honest.

In 1997 and at just 34 years old I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma after visiting my GP with what I thought was a hernia. I'd even put off going until the end of the football season as I wasn't looking forward to the op. The GP did her bit and sent me for a scan the next day and the same day I was in front of a consultant being told I had the big C.

Treatment would be day visits to the hospital for Chemotherapy which I tolerated well often returning to work after the sessions. The glands started to respond and we thought we'd sorted things out after the years treatment but unfortunately the disease wasn't yet done with me and returned with more aggression.

My consultant started a more intense run of Chemo and during this I would stay in hospital and needed to as it was very testing on the body which had just gone through chemo already. We supplemented the chemo with regular radiotherapy sessions and when things became more stable I was taken to Cambridge and given a Stem cell transplant which meant quite a stay in hospital and a bit of prep leading up to the transplant with daily injections etc.

The transplant didn't work for me and the combo of Chemo/radio had only halted the disease and bought me time. The consultant at Cambridge sent me home and pretty much said that's your lot.
Back at Harlow and my consultant oncologist said that if I had the stomach and energy to try one more option he'd see if he could get the funding. Of course I said yes and he somehow managed to get the funding. Within an hour of his pitch for the funding he was putting the wonder drug into me.
This new drug was actually antibodies grown in a foreign body and transferred to me to assist my immune system in fighting the disease itself and the rest is kind of history.

I was due to take six sessions but the body had tolerated all it could after four so treatment was stopped and it was enough for me to beat the thing. I believe I was the first UK patient to try this drug and this additional support is now offered to other people in their own personal battles against this type of illness.

So having beaten that after having been told I wouldn't see my 40th birthday I now had a future again.

Then when things were settled and we thought it was all passed us I contracted Legionella (The old immune system had taken a beating at this point.) I visited my GP for the second time in my life thinking I had a bad flu within minutes she'd organised a crash team to be on stand by for me at Harlow and I was rushed in. I spent three weeks in an induced coma before my body found the strength to bounce back again.

So reaching this milestone of 54 means more to me than the 50th as it's now 20 years since that first visit to the GP.

My wife and family sat by my side throughout and gave me reason to fight but you'll understand why I'm such a fan of the NHS! and in particular the consultant who walked every step with me and who I could never thank properly save using the time he's given me well.

I chose to use that time taking in as much of the great outdoors as possible so thank you again
Dr Faris Al-Refaie for making this all possible for me.

Things like this!

and this 

and this 

and this 

and this

And this.....and so much more!

And they also gave me the opportunity to spend the last thirteen years with Tia and I'll be for ever grateful for that and still miss her madly.

My Girl!........trying to pretend she's not actually in the pond.