As many of you know in November 2022 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Burkitt's Lymphoma - a particularly aggressive form of cancer requiring an equally aggressive chemotherapy regimen. This treatment targeted my immune system, where the cancer lived, and made me extremely vulnerable for the 5 month duration, requiring me to stay in hospital for the full course.

After an initial stay in Lancaster hospital, close to my home, and their lovely ICU unit, I was taken in to a specialist unit in Blackpool an hour away from home on the 23rd of December. There I spent Christmas day having chemicals intravenously pumped into my bloodstream, and managed a whole half hour with my wife and children.

Although my wife visited nearly every day (she was amazing!), I was unable to see the children often as too many visitors increased the risks of infection, and there were definitely days I was too ill and did not want them to see.

2 months in to treatment a MacMillan Nurse referred me to the Willow Foundation, in simple terms they are like Make A Wish but for seriously ill young adults. They got in touch immediately and accepted us as a family to receive a "Special Day" when I was able to leave hospital. This gave us all something to look forwards to, particularly the children enjoyed discussing potential activities and what we could do together when things were normal again and they had their dad back.

In March 2023 I was released from treatment and shortly afterwards I was cleared by a final scan - I have now been in remission almost a year at the time of writing. We had our day out that summer, indoor sledging at Chill Factore in Manchester, Dinosaur Mini-Golf and lunch out! I can't really put into words how much it meant to me to just be a family again.

And I'm one of the lucky ones. I will go on. Willow help a lot of people who will not, and their Special Days can take on a whole different meaning and be a last chance to have real quality time with loved ones. I read on their social media about one lady they helped with a last Christmas day in the summer - before she went into hospice care.

So this year I am running the Great North Run in support of this fantastic charity in the hopes of being able to provide for someone else a service that meant so much to us. Any support is much appreciated. A little from the charity below:

"At Willow we believe in quality of life and quality of time. Willow is the only national charity working with seriously ill young adults aged 16 to 40 to fulfil uplifting and unforgettable Special Days. This year we hope to fulfil 1,400 Special Days – a day to anticipate, to share and to remember when happy memories really do count. Sadly for some, it’s a last chance to fulfil a dream with the people that really matter. Thankfully for many more their Special Day is an important opportunity to put much-needed normality back into living."