On November 6th Max, our 12 year old son, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), believe it or not, this is a GOOD leukaemia to have, it’s very treatable and he should make a full recovery. His treatment started the next day in Bristol Children’s hospital, treatment involving steroids for 5 weeks, intensive chemotherapy for the first 6 – 9 months and continuing on a lesser scale for 3 years in total. He is currently awating to start week 10 of treatment, at week 14 we will have a better idea of how the treatment is working.

As you can imagine we were in total shock when we were admitted to hospital just hours after the doctor had taken bloods to test for what we thought was anaemia. To say shell-shocked would be pretty accurate, as well as scared, angry, confused, worried not only about Max but the implications on Archie’s life, we had so many questions and concerns we felt like we were in free fall in the dark.

On day 3 we met Alex, our CLIC nurse. She explained so many things to us and told us of how much CLIC would do for us not only during his treatment but for the rest of his life. We also have our own CLIC social worker who will help us with a number of practical issues, and we have been granted use of the CLIC house which is just 10 minutes walk from the hospital in Bristol. It is a home from home that family, and Max when he’s well enough, can stay in while he is being treated in Bristol. Suddenly the light was turned on and CLIC provided a parachute to help ease our decent.

It costs CLIC an average of £4000 to support a family through the average treatment (Max's journey will cost more than this). We would love to not only raise some funds, ideally enough to pay our way but also to raise awareness of what CLIC do for families who find themselves in the ultimate nightmare.

Thank you in advance for your support

Karen and Simon Mitchell