On Sunday 23rd April, I will be running in the London Marathon to raise funds for Anthony Nolan. 

My story coincides with the start of my teaching career as one day driving back from university, I received a panicked (for those of you that know him this is unusual!) call from my dad telling me to rush back home. My mum had been ill with a pain in her back for a couple of weeks and was told not to worry. However, seeing her in so much pain, we rang an ambulance and that’s where her experience with cancer began. 

The next two years were a whirlwind and quite honestly hard to put into words. After a series of tests, my mum was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's T-Cell Lymphoma. After months and months of chemotherapy, she was told the great news that her cancer had gone into remission. However the not so great news was that it was almost a guarantee that her cancer would return. With this in mind, the only other option she had was a stem cell transplant. When efforts to use her own stem cells failed, it became clear that she needed a donor. This is where Anthony Nolan came in and saved my mum’s life. After a tense wait, a perfect match was found via the Anthony Nolan charity. In July 2017, three years after she first fell ill, my mum was told “You can put your lymphoma in the past now” by her doctors. These words simply wouldn’t have been possible without Anthony Nolan. 

And as Anthony Nolan was helping my mum, they were also hard at work helping bring a transplant to another special person. During my teacher training, I had the pleasure of meeting a brave boy named Lewis. Lewis was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (T-ALL) in October 2015. At just 5 years old, he demonstrated courage beyond his years. In 2017, he too received a stem cell transplant from a generous donor through Anthony Nolan. Tragically, despite Lewis’ transplant, his cancer did return and on 3rd November 2017, Lewis sadly died. Lewis’ memory lives on in our school community and he will never be forgotten and will be running with him at the forefront of my mind. You can read more about Lewis’ journey here as well as donating to the great cause that Team Lewis are working towards: https://www.teamlewistrust.org.uk/about-us

Although I will never be able to repay Anthony Nolan, running the marathon to raise funds for them feels like a good place to start. 

Any donations would be massively appreciated as I start my training.

Matty/Mr Dale