My partner, Nunzia, was diagnosed with Acute T-cell lymphoblastic Leukaemia (T-ALL) in January 2021. After brutal but brave battle with the cancer for the following 17 months, she died of this devastating illness, in May 2022 at the age of 30, leaving a huge void in my life and the lives of many.

Nunzia was a passionate Nurse and among other things, loved singing, piano, guitar, making macrame, cooking, and travelling in the campervan she built. In life, Nunzia was epitome of kindness, passion, selflessness and care for her family and friends. Her light and legacy will inspire and guide those whose lives she touched.

In her honour, I am attempting the London Marathon a year after her passing, while struggling with tendonitis and a strained hamstring.

Nunzia was blessed to have been treated by the wonderful team at UCLH, and was always grateful for their world-class expertise and perpetual compassion from beginning to end. Nunzia was always keeping her Nurses on their toes - as the saying goes that Nurses make the worst patients.

After life, she would be so proud that contributions are being made in her honour to her fellow nursing staff. Any donation, however big or small, will go exclusively to supporting UCLH’s blood cancer charity, Haematology Cancer Care (HCC), and will give me more motivation to push through the training during the winter months. 

HCC provides wide-ranging support for haematology at UCLH including; personalised care for all patients with blood cancer, high-tech medical equipment, research into treatment projects, training of staff.

If you're not in a position to donate financially, why not give some thought to registering as a blood donor with NHS - Give Blood. The NHS needs 400 new donors a day just to keep up with demand! Register to donate at: https://www.blood.co.uk

Thank you for your support, it means so much to me, love Shane