Can you imagine hearing the words ‘…without this we cannot do much more for you.’ Whilst dangling from a cliff with a doctor holding a rope which with every day that passes shortens in tension. Death is on one side of your fate and life another, but that is out of yours or your doctors’ control…it lies with a stranger.⁣
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This is the reality of around 2,000+ people annually as they are given the devastating news that they require a Bone Marrow Transplant to give them the best chance possible of fighting off their blood cancer. From children as young as 1 month old to someone who has lived life and retired, it knows no age limit.⁣
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This was a reality I lived myself. At 14 years old I had a summer feeling more than ‘under the weather’. It was 7 weeks later that I found myself laying in a hospital bed with a consultant saying the words ‘you have Leukaemia’ to me. At this point did I know my life was changed forever? Of course. Did I know that there was a mammoth 4-year journey ahead? No.⁣
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My initial treatment worked, rendering me in ‘remission’ or ‘cancer free’. Result. Though 12 months of hiatus from the disease and my body obviously decided it fancied another taste of that bittersweet chemotherapy. However, this time we had an option of desert on the menu, in the shape of an unrelated stem cell transplant. Without which it was unlikely I would live to see another 12 months longer on this planet.⁣
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15 years old, barely lived and I had a situation out of anyone’s hand threatening to cut it short.⁣
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Thanks to the selfless act of an individual who remains anonymous to me, my family and I were given the second chance of life. Lucky does not cover it.⁣
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5.5 years on, healthier and happier than ever I have decided to dedicate one annual event every year to my ‘gift of life’ to raise funds for Anthony Nolan, the charity who saved my life and found me a donor, and awareness for the Stem Cell register – a register that is only occupied by 2% of the UK population…⁣
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In this year’s quest I am joined by a formidable team from Weymouth’s top tier gym ‘First Class Fitness’. With PTs and Clients, we are aiming to challenge our minds and bodies as we embark to summit the UKs highest peaks consecutively in under 24 hours…⁣
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Will it be easy? Absolutely not.⁣
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Will it be fun? It’s always fun...right?
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Every donation you give will contribute to the team’s motivation of putting one foot in front of another (50,500 times to be clear) and the life-saving work Anthony Nolan does every day. At the end of a difficult year for many, giving to others seems more important than ever…