Thank you ever so much for donating, it really means a lot to me.

I'm running the London Marathon in 2014 for Anthony Nolan because the work they do is, quite simply, incredible.

Back in 2005, thanks to an awareness drive at work (Heathrow) I went onto the Anthony Nolan register (bone marrow donor for people with blood cancer), which basically involved providing a saliva and blood sample. To be honest, it was such a long time ago I had completely forgotten about it, until September 2012.

I got a letter saying I might be a match, and if I wanted to take the next step I had to fill in a form about my health. So I did, and a few days later I received 4 vials and a blood taking kit. One of the benefits of having a nurse as my sister meant I was able to, legally, take the blood and get it sent back. Again, within a matter of days I received another ‘pack’ saying that there was a 20% chance I was a match, and could I please send off a further 11 vials of blood. Katie once again obliged, packaged it up, and in the post it went.

A couple of weeks passed before I received a phone call from the Anthony Nolan trust saying that I was in fact a match, and would I be happy to go forward with a full medical assessment, and more than likely, an operation. At this point I got a little nervous, as it turned out I needed to have a full bone marrow harvest (general Anaesthetic and marrow extracted from my hips) as opposed to a peripheral stem cell extract (hooked up to a kind of dialysis machine). The guy explained that, because of the age of the recipient, it needed to be a harvest of bone marrow.

I guessed it was an old person so I asked the age of the person, and the Anthony Nolan guy said it was a little girl. Of course, that cleared any doubts in my mind and I committed myself to it 100% - I only had to imagine for a split second what it would be like to have my 3 year old daughter in that postition.

After passing a medical I, accompanied by my wife and daughter, checked into the London Clinic at the end of October for the operation. It was so easy and comfortable it really didn't seem like I was going to hospital for an op, it was more like a 5 star hotel. We all had a lovely evening meal before they set off home and settled down for the night.

The next morning I was whizzed down to theatre, knocked out, operated on, came around and then dropped back into my hospital room. Ok, it wasn't quite as clinical as that, it was a very comfortable and friendly experience; all the doctors and nurses were lovely, chatty and very grateful for me deciding to go through with it. I felt very safe and relaxed from start to finish.

Once the effects of the anesthetic wore off (sleepy and having the giggles, mostly) bar a slighty sore lower back, I felt pretty good. I spent the day browsing the web, having a snooze, nibbling on food, watching TV and generally relaxing. It was rather nice. Oh, and late afernoon/early evening, the team that operated on me all came in to the room and personally thanked me for donating. That was really nice of them, as they didn't need to do it, as I was more than happy to help. Even so, that moment will stay with me forever.

The next morning my sister came to collect me from hospital and took me home. And I was back at work a week later. I even think I was back playing football 3 weeks after that.

Now, the reality is of course that there's no guarantee that the little girl will survive. However, she has at least now been given a chance.

You too can help give people a chance by registering yourself with Anthony Nolan, by donating, or by simply spreading the word and making people aware of how simple is it to sign up.

Thank you for reading this, and thank you for helping.

 

Dan