'I was so tired I was falling asleep at work - then police arrived at my door'

Dad Andrew Moyens couldn't enactment retired wherefore helium was perpetually exhausted. The fit, non-smoking dad, who leads a comparatively steadfast manner and is an progressive golfer, was perpetually bushed contempt having nary wide crushed why.

The 52-year-old said: "I was falling dormant betwixt jobs and had a unspeakable thorax corruption that had maine waking up from slumber incapable to breathe. At times, I felt frightened I mightiness die, it was truthful hard to drawback my breath. It was becoming progressively hard to locomotion adjacent 400 yards, without having to halt 4 oregon 5 times to get my enactment back."

Despite seeing a GP and taking antibiotics which somewhat improved his condition, helium was overwhelmingly shattered. Working arsenic a self-employed car inspector and transportation idiosyncratic for the centrifugal industry, Andrew pushed himself done the festive play successful December 2022.

The Aston Villa instrumentality added: "I americium usually rather an progressive feline - I play golf regularly, don't fume and see myself reasonably fit. But I ended up having to instrumentality a week disconnected work, during which clip I slept for 3 days and hardly got retired of bed.", reports Gloucestershire Live.

"Over Christmas, I was inactive not right. I hardly joined successful with each the celebrations and hardly drank. My woman couldn't recognize what was up with me. I was conscionable truthful bushed each the time."

Days aft the caller twelvemonth celebrations helium returned to the GP but saw a antithetic doctor who instantly did humor tests. He said: "I didn't deliberation excessively overmuch of it and went home. I retrieve being excessively exhausted to instrumentality down the Christmas histrion and laic connected the sofa watching my woman putting each the decorations away. We gag astir it now, but astatine the time, she wondered wherefore I was lying astir watching her bash each the hard work! ".

That evening his 13-year-old girl had a creation people which helium was excessively bushed to instrumentality her to. Instead, she went with his woman portion helium laic watching the darts last from the sofa with immoderate food and crackers and a tiny solid of wine.

Andrew, from Sheldon, Birmingham, said: "At astir 9:20pm, determination was a sound astatine the door. I assumed it was my girl arriving backmost from dance. But erstwhile I went to the door, determination were 2 constabulary officers lasting there.

"They explained that the doc had been trying to scope maine each day, but due to the fact that I had not seen immoderate of the texts and had not responded, they had been sent to bash a thrust past to cheque that I was ok. They told maine that my humor tests that greeting had revealed determination was a information to my beingness - I should battalion an overnight container and they would travel maine to the infirmary consecutive away."

Shocked Andrew headed with them to A&E wherever helium was told his achromatic humor compartment number was "through the roof" and his reddish humor cells were truly low. He said: "Effectively they were attacking each other."

He underwent an contiguous humor transfusion, followed by a bony marrow biopsy the adjacent morning. Andrew recalled: "A time later, connected Thursday 5th January, the doc came to spot maine and told maine I had AML (acute myeloid leukaemia)."

He admitted: "I truly knew thing astir leukaemia astatine the time. My lone awareness, being an Aston Villa fan, was that Stiliyan Petrov had it. Of course, it was a precise frightening diagnosis."

Andrew confessed that receiving the crab diagnosis filled him with dread, and helium was overwhelmed with thoughts of the worst-case scenario. The doc offered to interruption the quality to his wife, and Andrew recovered it heartbreaking to perceive her crying implicit the phone.

Andrew was placed successful isolation and began a three-month attraction program successful the hospital, which included 3 rounds of chemotherapy, starting conscionable days aboriginal connected the pursuing Saturday. To minimize the hazard to his health, helium was lone allowed to spot his woman and was separated from his girl for a month.

It was discovered that Andrew required a bony marrow transplant, and fortunately, some his member and sister were 100% matches. His member was chosen arsenic the donor.

Andrew returned to the infirmary to hole for the surgery, again successful isolation to trim the hazard of infection. In May 2023, helium underwent the transplant, receiving 13 bags of stem cells.

Although the process went well, doctors cautioned him that determination was inactive a agelong and challenging roadworthy to betterment up erstwhile helium was discharged from the infirmary aft 5 weeks. Despite immoderate scary moments, including his kidneys failing astatine 1 point, by the mediate of summertime helium was celebrating remission and a cancer-free life.

Now, helium has monthly check-ups with his doctor, and though he's had to displacement to a table job, helium says it feels superb being backmost astatine enactment adjacent if it's conscionable for 3 days a week.

He expressed immense gratitude, saying: "I volition beryllium eternally grateful for each the aesculapian attraction I received astatine each level, but I besides couldn't person got done this without the emotion and devotion of my woman and daughter, and the enactment and encouragement from my brother-in-law.

"They were my lone nexus to the extracurricular world during my darkest days successful hospital. Being surrounded by radical that attraction truly is captious to a affirmative intelligence cognition which decidedly helped maine successful my combat against my diagnosis."

He added: "I person ever been precise affirmative and ever knew that I was going to combat this and get done it for my family. I person been beardown each on and mentally, I consciousness stronger present than ever.

"The full acquisition has 100% changed maine though. My outlook connected beingness is precise antithetic these days. I americium overmuch calmer and volition not let myself to get stressed oregon angry. What's the constituent erstwhile you can't alteration what you can't change? ".

Andrew is present helping charities Leukaemia Care and Leukaemia UK to rise consciousness of the information aft a survey involving 2,000 UK adults revealed that little than one-sixth (14%) could spot each 4 main symptoms of this lethal humor disease. These symptoms include:

• unusual bruising
• unusual bleeding
• fatigue
• and repeated infections

In the UK, 27 radical are diagnosed with leukaemia daily, equating to astir 10,000 a year. Currently, implicit 50,000 individuals are surviving with the disease, but tragically, it claims 5,000 lives annually.

Contrary to fashionable misconceptions, leukaemia is not solely a puerility illness arsenic it predominantly affects those implicit 65. Leukaemia UK and Leukaemia Care are encouraging some the nationalist and healthcare professionals to familiarise themselves with the symptoms of leukaemia and to interaction their GP for a humor trial if they person immoderate concerns.

Further accusation and enactment is disposable done Leukaemia Care. Visit their website, telephone their freephone helpline connected 08088 010 444 oregon email [email protected]