Story
For those or you that don't know my beautiful, courageous husband Alex, here's our story.
Alex was diagnosed with AML Leukaemia in February2017.
He underwent 8 months of chemo and a stem cell transplant with his mum as a donor as no one was on the list that matched him. This gave us 2 beautiful years of amazing holidays, friends and family time and memories with Alex, fit and healthy
Unfortunately in 2019 we got the news that Alex had relapsed and we started chemotherapy straight away. He was in fact 1 chemo away from a full remission in December before catching covid, which completely destroyed all the work the chemo had done. We devastatingly lost both his mum and his dad to covid and were told he would need a transplant quickly for any chance of recovery.
Luckily there were a couple of people that had signed up to the register in Turkey since our last transplant... but were still only 8/10 matches. Because Alex is half Thai, it was sadly a very slim chance of finding a 10/10 match as there are not enough mixed raced or minority background donors on the registry. We went ahead with the 2nd transplant in 2020 which gave us 4 months of health before the horrible disease fought back. We again underwent months of treatment and chemo before having another transplant on Alexs 25th Birthday 2022.
Unfortunately the Leukaemia spread to his brain and spinal cord shortly after this, but my Alex courageously fought for months after this and out lived what he was suppose to with his admirable and inspirational drive and determination, before heaven said enough was enough and they needed him back.
But, because of Anthony Nolan and the kindness of two strangers, I got to marry the love of my life, and we got years of extra time with Alex and for that I will be eternally grateful.
I truly believe if more people were on the register, more people would have 10/10 matches for their transplants and they would be more successful. Please if you do anything today, this week, this month, take a look at the link in our bio and see just how easy it would be for you to potentially save someone's life. Although Alex is working relentlessly hard in heaven to achieve this, we need to work hard here on earth too.
Instagram: @ajs_legacy
Every day, Anthony Nolan saves the lives of people with a blood cancer or blood disorder. We do this by matching incredible individuals willing to donate their stem cells to people who desperately need a lifesaving transplant. We also carry out cutting edge scientific research, fund specialist post-transplant nurses and support patients and their families through the transplant process and beyond. We won’t stop until we save the lives of everyone who needs a stem cell transplant. Every penny you donate brings us closer to that day.
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