My brother Anthony Lake-Johns (Tony) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia on the 27^th May 2009 at the age of 32. He was admitted to the Ruth Myles unit of St.George’s Hospital, to undergo chemotherapy and further treatment. Once he had completed his first phase of chemotherapy, he continued as a day care patient. Unfortunately Tony caught swine flu and after a short battle in intensive care passed away on the 25^th August 2009. 

Whilst sorting through some of Tony’s emails, I found this part of an email that he had sent to ‘CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA’, sent just five days after he was diagnosed with Leukaemia himself. "I have recently been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and I was wondering if there was anything I could do in order to help others in my position." He was determined to get himself fit and raise money for the Ruth Myles unit which treated his and many other people’s Leukaemia.

David

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We are aiming to complete the 3 Peaks Challenge - which involves summitting and descending each of the highest peaks in (Scafell Pike), (Snowdon), and () within 24 hours. That's up and down - so the clock starts and stops in the car park at the bottom of the first and last mountain. Part of the challenge in completing the 3 Peaks (within 24 hours), lies in the logistics - getting up and down the 3 mountains in the time limit would not be anywhere near as testing if it weren't for the distances you have to travel between the peaks. This in turn puts pressure on being quick and efficient up and down each mountain, so along with careful planning and preparation, anyone hoping to finish the event will need a good degree of fitness, as well as a lot of determination.

For more details about the challenge and the participants, visit www.accelerace.co.uk/tonyschallenge.

The Ruth Myles unit is a 13-bed and day care centre which treats and cares for Haematology patients, and those requiring bone marrow transplantations. Tony naturally learned all of the nurses’ names in this unit and they were often laughing with him about the amount of food he could eat. He would often finish his hospital meal and then ask the nurses either to bring round any food left over or start heating up some pizzas in the kitchen. They all formed good relationships with him due to his high spirits and unusual optimism. When we returned to see the day care clinic, most of the nurses were in tears when we introduced ourselves as Tony’s family.

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