As some of you may already be aware, on Sunday 21st June my boyfriend, Lewis, went into hospital after feeling unwell and was promptly diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. It was a huge shock to us all, however we are extremely lucky that the diagnosis was speedy and Lewis began treatment urgently. It would be an understatement to say that this is one of the hardest things I have ever gone through, but Lewis' family and I will obviously continue to support Lewis in any way we can. I know Lewis has a huge amount of support which is amazing and that will definitely help him to remain positive and come out the other side stronger than ever.

Due to Covid-19 we are currently unable to visit Lewis in hospital. Although I know Lewis has remained extremely positive so far (from our daily FaceTime calls) it's hard to give someone the level of care and support you want to, when you can't see them in person. This gave me the idea of putting together a video for Lew to show him how much support he's got; even from people he doesn't know.

Being a performer, I gathered together a group of fellow performers (some of my closest friends from uni) to perform the song 'Can't Help Falling in Love'. We performed this song a while back in a showcase at university and I thought there was no song more fitting to sing for Lew. 

I can't thank Matt Mellor (Musical Director, Pianist and Arrangement) enough for allowing us to create this for Lewis, Chris Hough (drummer), Rachael Egan (video and sound editor) and my incredible friends in the video for being so supportive and keen to help in any way they can. 

As you will see / have seen at the end of the video, everyone holds up an orange heart. Orange is the symbolic colour for Leukaemia and with that in mind, I ask if you watched the video, to please donate via my just giving page to Leukaemia UK.  

On 25th August, me and Lew reached our 12 month mark together. On this day, I ran 12k from my house to Lewis' to commemorate this. That was genuinely one of the hardest things i've ever done but still, not a patch on the pain Lewis is going through.

On 1st December, one of my closest friends and I walked 12 miles to Manchester Royal Infirmary, where Lewis had recently received his stem cell transplant and it continuing to receive treatment. 

I will continue to do whatever I can to raise awareness of this disease and as much money as I can to support the work of Leukaemia UK.

Thank you for your support and reading this to the end. It means the world. Lewis WILL get through this. He's strong and kind and his witty personality and infectious glow will see him through. 

See you soon Lew. I love you with my whole heart and never any less. You got this. 

Emma x