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.
This is Liam reporting live from The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel. I'm at the 2007 Web Log Awards - you know that thing Adrian had us all voting on. I'm the lucky bugger Adrian sent on his behalf so far that luck hasn't translated to the card tables but fingers crossed it will work for Adrian tonight and he will have won the best Health blog award.
Update at 10pm (which I think is 5am back in UK) .. Adrian has won!
I'm thrilled to say that this blog is the Web Blog Awards 2007 winner.
Well done to Adrian and thanks to everyone who voted.
Congratulations Mr Moon Face!
The petitioning did the trick. If i emailed everyone and asked them to vote everyday i think i would still only have got about 20 votes so i'm mega impressed.
Shame you couldn't go and shock them with your strength of 10 men drinking abilities due to the 'roids. That would have been award number 2!
See you soon buddy.
OLie
Nice one Sudders!
Congratulations AD.
What an amazing thing you have achieved. Lets hope that many more people will have been made aware of Leukaeia and its treatment and be encouraged to join a bone marrow register or donate to a Leukaemia charity to help more people with this horrible disease.
Well done again
Phil
Well done Adie! From the all Hunter family. Fantastic news!
I found the weblog awards by linking from Neil Gaiman's blog feed... and I clicked all the medical, science, and food related sites, along with the "culture" and "photography" and a couple of regional ones... anyway, wow. This has been quite an amazing read (and honestly, it's the only one I've been reading all day long, off and on as I've been able to for 12 hours...). Anyway, as someone they call "terminal" and "chronic" and "severe" and "rare" in my set of disorders (that being one in a million (or trillion, or the only one like you in the world) thing is only good when you're a kid riding a bike and it's your dad saying it, I'm very certain now)... these entries hit home. My own journal is an archaic lj that I've gotten less able to update as circumstances including hospital stay durations have gotten worse, but this reads an awful lot like some posts I've made, except (particularly as you incorporate pictures that I'm too lazy, self-conscious, and other things to do) yours is far more relatable, readable... you actually say it in a way that I think more people than "just us gimps" get. I see people saying the same types of stuff to you that they do to me, and I feel the same mix of hope, despair, intense fighting willpower and equally intense somber surrender that I'm seeing in your posts.
Leukemia isn't my battle--my 29 (nearly 29) year old body is dealing with issues through , my bones, the moist, soft tissues that line the joints and keep them moving gently without cracking and scraping, everything related to or affected by my immune system (which likes to go from hypermanic to nonexistent, especially when they shove a load of methotrexate in me to tell it to stop killing off my glands), neurological system, and pretty well everywhere, since you know well enough this stuff doesn't stay put-if sharing is caring, these disorders really are overly compassionate when I wish they'd be apathetic and ignore the other 2,000 parts.
I admire and even envy your ability to stay so strong and to keep contact with the people who are in your life--that's been the biggest struggle for me. No one understands, and meeting new people, it's really hard to balance out taking care of yourself with the awkwardness of being realistic about the dangers their common cold could mean to your faulty systems that just can't fight the good battle like they oughtta. If anything is a test of character and fidelity, man, it's this. I have seen some people just drop off the face of the earth right after learning I was sick, as if they'd catch it from me by giving me a hug, then I've had others hold me twice as hard, probably realizing some days that's the only thing anyone can do to help.
All that blabbing said, I'm sending a freaking huge hug from the east coast of the USA to you in case you have one of those days when that's all that can help. It's funny--people 2-3 times my age scorn how it's so unfair... I guess I never believed in things being fair or unfair, which is probably what got me through these threatening surgeries to start with (I average 3-5 a year and have for quite a while now)... it's only recently that I started even considering that maybe it's not so fair and I'm entitled to days when I just want to kick and whine like a six year old brat. Today's not a day to whine... for you, I hope it's a day to shine... if your steroid moon face is anything like mine, shining is quite easy to accomplish, at least at the cheekbones!!
So store this hug and all the other thousand people are sending you today and safeguard it for one of those rainy days (in England? No way!) when you'll need all of us to hug you as a big collective gimp squad!
Take care,
Laura K
Congratulations Adrian!! This is really great news and I'm so pleased for you.
Keep up the good work!
Julie x
P.S. How come we never got sent to Vegas to do any stories?!
Hi Adrian,
I Just wanted to write and say what an inspiration i found your blogs.
I lost my Mum suddenly to Luekemia nearly 3 years ago, it was a a type called AML she was fine on the Wednesday an dead on the Tuesday, She didn't know and had no time to even realise what was going on,
I like to think that if it was possible she would of fought hard just like you..
I wish you well and will keep up with your progress on the Trinity Mirror site, where i work.
Take Care,
Lots of love Karen Roberts
North Wales.
Congrats Adrian. I understand the poll was run by the same people who do the GMTV quiz questions and Blue Peter's name the cat competition, so there may be a stewards enquiry at some point.
By the way, Liam and Steve shouldn't take all the credit for being in Vegas and writing up on the blog.
Shurely the picture credit should be Stevie Wonder
Congratulations, Adrian, on a well deserved award - just sorry you can't be there in person to receive it.
Congratulations to Adrian! A worthy winner. I knew the competition would be tough, but not exactly how tough until I read everyone else's blog ... and this one deserved to win.
Hooray!
Hi Adrian, Just discovered your blog after internal company email and realised we've three things in common, we're both journalists, we both work for Trinity Mirror and sadly were both cancer sufferers. In my case it's myeloma and I've had a stem cell transplant after high dose chemo all of which followed months of various kinds of medication including the dreaded steroids. All I can say mate is hang in there, I KNOW how hard it is and the horrors you have to deal with but it can be done. There's still ups and downs like when I got back to part-time work last year but after only a couple of weeks back collapsed in the toilet, threw up in a waste paper basket and was carried out on a stretcher infront of all my colleagues! I managed a holiday abroad early this year but had the embarrassment of feeling ill on a bus and throwing up over a German tourist! But at least I can laugh about it now and one day hopefully you will. Congrats on the award and take care. Julian, North Wales Weekly News, Llandudno Junction.
Hey, Adrian, congratulations, a well deserved award if ever there was one. Have you prepared your acceptance speech yet?
Jill x
Oh, and my chemo nurses will want your autograph now.
Dear Adrian,
Great news! Well done . We've been looking at the graph all week and and we're thrilled for you .
Love from Andy,Anne, Tom and Harry
Hi Adrian
Brilliant news!It`s so exciting for you and you must be pleased and humbled that your blog has achieved this award.You are an inspiration and have helped take away the fear of leukaemia and its treatment.
Take care as always.
Best wishes to you and your family
Liz
PS Shall find link for this infamous YFC calendar!!
shades!
never before has LV had such a deserving ceremony and winner....I bet black 17 - get the guys to put a chip down!
As you know full well - I LOVE YOU. Sloppy kisses, bear tight hugs and cheeky winks are all heading right for you big face
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear Adrian,
Congratulations on winning the weblogs award. You don't know me but I have been following your blogs for quite awhile now, eversince Phil Driver told me your story.
I have to say I think you are an amazing person and you really deserved to win the award because your blogs are educational, inspirational and a real eye opener for people.
Congratulations again.
Fiona x
Baldy's blog - truly a global phenomenon-on-on....
and a well deserved winner!
Well done, Sudders, catch up with you soon
Cheers,
Mike