Do you know my life is forever changed now?

I don’t want to go.

I love my life.

I am happy, I owe that to my family.

The thing about life is that it is fragile, precious and unpredictable and each day is a gift not a given right but I am asking you all for your help in giving me those guaranteed days.

I am a mum of 3 children, Kate 25, Ben 21 and Maddie 12, a wife to Chris and a carer to my brother Paul who has severe special needs. I am also a nanny to baby Harry.

How my life has changed!

Back in February 2016 I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and after 6 months of intensive chemotherapy I underwent a stem cell transplant from a donor in Germany. During this process I sadly lost my mum to her battle with cancer, something I do not wish my children to experience at such a young age. The death of my mum also left me responsible for my brother with severe special needs.

It was a bumpy road with infections, frequent hospital admissions and complications. The good news was I was in remission.

....... Fast forward to October 2018 when we discovered on a routine blood test that the leukaemia had come back and mutated into a rare form of leukaemia (CML).

Following on from this devastating news I underwent further intensive treatment which included further stem cells from my donor and a course of immunotherapy drugs but now sadly all attempts have failed to get me cancer free. When you think things couldn’t get any worse my husband suffered a stroke.

It’s a strange thing to realise and accept your mortality.

It’s just one of those things you ignore.

The days tick by and you just expect they will keep on coming until the unexpected happens.

My only chance now is a second line immunotherapy drug called Dasatinib which due to funding restrictions on the NHS is not available. The cost for a 12 month treatment plan is £36,600.00.

I am not the type to ask for help, certainly not for money, I am asking for my children to keep their mum, a husband to keep his wife and a brother to keep his sister.

We would be so very grateful in any way, for your donations, no matter how small to help us achieve our target. I will keep you all updated as to what’s happening, my progress and how you are helping me.

Love Julie, Chris, Kate, Ben, Maddie, Paul & Harry x