We are trying to raise funds to help our friend with some essential items to make him as comfortable as possible at this very difficult time in his life.

Things like an adjustable bed, a shower tray to have his bath removed to make it accessible for him to have a wash, a comfortable recliner for him to sit in when he is down stairs and any other small pieces of equipment that might help to make his life easier in the coming weeks and months as he recovers from this first operation and gets himself well enough and strong enough to start an intensive course of cancer treatment in the coming weeks.

His life in the last 3 weeks has been turned upside down and been spun around in so many directions with a constant stream of bad news and pain. He is now unable to return to work and is living on statutory sick pay.

After suffering a chest infection just after christmas, he continued to have unbearable pain in his chest and back. He attended a&e several times as the pain was unbearable but he was sent home with pain killers every time but things didn't improve, he tried to carry on with his life and work the best he could but 2 weeks ago things got really bad.

He was out walking to the shop and he had a fall, his legs just went from under him, we rushed him once again to a&e where eventually after a very long wait he received a scan. The scan revealed a tumour on his spine and his spine had actually collapsed at that point, he was in unbearable pain and had lost a lot of the feeling in his legs and feet. He was rushed to the RVI in Newcastle where he underwent emergency surgery to try to remove the tumour and get him some feeling back.

The surgery was very touch and go for him and he needed 6ltrs of blood during the 7 hour operation, it was not a straight forward operation, they removed a big chuck on his spine and it was then replaced with a metal cage.

He has done really well after the operation but is still very unsteady on his feet because the feeling hasn't returned fully. Just before he left the hospital he was given more bad news, the cancer in his spine was a secondary cancer, it had come from his kidneys and he had also has nodules on his rib cage and a enlarged prostrate, he is still waiting for his oncology appointment where he will find out exactly what the future holds.

He is now home and is sleeping a lot of the time as life at home is a lot of hard work, just getting from one room to the other and up and down the stairs is like climbing a mountain. Just doing the basic things that we all take for granted just zaps him of all his energy and his limited movement makes everything a challenge. He has been told he has to try to recover and build his strength to face the next round of treatment he will have to go through.

This is why we decided to set up this page to ask you for your help and support urgently for someone in a time of need. A time when a few basic comfortable items could make all the difference to his life and make the coming months when he is going through intensive cancer treatment a little bit easier.

Chris is a dear friend, the father of my 2 beautiful children and also my ex husband.

Please help if you can, give as little or as much as you want to, as it will all add up and make his life a little bit more comfortable.

Thank you very kindly and remember even if you don't donate, if you have read this to the end please share the page with your friends and family and that will also be supporting him. xx