Adrian Sudbury was a reporter for both the Huddersfield Express and Chronicle Series and the Huddersfield Examiner. In November 2006 the 25-year-old was promoted to digital journalist, effectively editing the new-look Examiner website.
Just two days into his new role he became seriously ill and called in sick. A week later he drove himself to A&E and was eventually diagnosed with leukaemia.
It was then identified that he actually had two distinct types of the disease running at the same time. According to the medical literature he was the only person in the world to have this condition. As such, it was not possible to offer Adrian a prognosis.
Here he shared his experiences of the disease and his treatment up until his passing.My Video Diary Part 6
May 2007 Archives
My Video Diary Part 5
My Video Diary Part 4
My Video Diary Part 3
My Video Diary Part 2
Here are a series of video blogs outlining the major steps in my bone marrow transplant.
Throughout my illness I have been given the most tremendous support.
Firstly I would like to thank all the nurses, doctors and support staff on ward P3. They have been brilliant to me. Every time I have felt down someone has come in and cheered me up just by spending time with me or listening to me talk drivel.
I could not have come this far without them and I don't think I will ever be able to express my full gratitude to the team.
I also want to say thank you to my anonymous donor who has so generously given me a chance to live.
When I was diagnosed with leukaemia back in November it was like a huge rock being thrown into a pool, the ripples of which swept out across so many friends, family members and colleagues.
Their response has also been incredible raising a large sum of money for charities associated with leukaemia.
My friend Phil Driver ran the London Marathon for the Anthony Nolan Trust, in a pretty impressive four hours. He has also organised a big football tournament in Liverpool at which their will be a drive for new stem cell donors.
I hope he knows how grateful I am for all the effort and time he has personally put in.
Phil has now raised over £5,000 for the Anthony Nolan Trust.
Continue reading Thank you (Part 14).
I wish none of this was happening to me, but it is.
How do I talk seriously to my girlfriend about dying much younger than I should?
Readers of previous posts will know how important having children is to me, so do we go for IVF knowing full well that by the time they are ten I could be dead?
What sort of impact would it have on their lives?
What does Poppy do then? Getting any life insurance will be virtually impossible so do I bother?
What about buying a house - will Poppy be able to downsize if I die earlier than expected?
Should I ditch saving for a pension?
What about holidays? We both love to travel but I won't be able to go abroad for at least another year or so.
I wish we didn't have to address these questions, but we do.
Continue reading No going back (Part 13).
What would you say if I said stem cell donation differed little from giving blood?
You'd probably say something like, "Shut up Sudders, I'm tired of your online cancer whinging, and if I was a bone marrow donor someone would need to smash my spine."
I have a degree in Physiology, have spent five months in and out of a haematology ward, and I'm still staggered that I have only learnt what stem cell donation is really like.
There is a huge amount of confusion on the issue. I used to give blood but never thought about donating stem cells because I thought there was a slight risk of paralysis.
"You do realise there could be up to a 30% chance of dying during the transplant process. This means for every 100 patients treated in this way, up to 30 could die."
Initially my brain screamed at the consultant that I was fully aware of the percentage concept. Then, as I suppose the doctor intended, that figure transformed into real people, who really could die, in real life.
I always hoped I would be able to avoid a bone marrow transplant, or stem cell transplant as they are now called, and just carry on with the cycles of chemotherapy. But this wasn't to be.
Continue reading Transplant (Part 11).
