Saved by the kindness of strangers
RICHARD Mills says he owes his life to the kindness of 50 strangers.
Now in remission from leukaemia, he was given more than 20 bags of blood and 30 bags of platelets - blood's clotting agent - during his treatment at St James's Hospital in Leeds.
"Without these transfusions my recovery would have taken a lot longer - or may not have taken place at all," said Richard who is now backing urgent appeals for more blood donors to come forward.
It was a problem with aching wrists that took Richard to see his GP last autumn - but within a matter of weeks he was in hospital being treated for leukaemia.
"Since I was a child I've had weak and painful wrists but, being a typical man, I didn't really want to go to the doctor. Looking back, I had been feeling tired and lethargic for a while but hadn't known why.
"Fortunately my wife persuaded me to go to my GP. I'm very glad I took her advice because it led to blood tests being taken and leukaemia being diagnosed. It all happened very fast and treatment was started almost straightaway."
Richard lives with his family - wife Gill and daughters Grace, aged 14, and 12-year-old Bea - in Camborne Drive, Fixby. Gill, Grace and Bea are members of St John's Church, Rastrick, and 48-year-old Richard is former chairman of the St John's Parochial Church Council.
Faced with a choice of getting treatment underway immediately or waiting until after Christmas, Richard decided he just wanted 'to get on with it'. "It was an emotional time. Within a couple of days of being told I had leukaemia, I was in St James's to have treatment started. I am the type of person who would rather face up to things. There was a lot of thinking about my family and how hard it was for them. But I was told I had an 80 per cent chance of survival so I knew the odds were on my side."
A 10-day course of chemotherapy was started and Richard suffered the usual side effects - hair loss, enlarged liver and spleen and loss of feeling in his toes and fingers. "One of the worst problems was boredom. I was kept in isolation so was allowed few visitors and I wasn't allowed to get up and walk around. I'm used to being active so that was quite difficult. It became a mental as well as a physical battle."
There was a setback when Richard suffered a haemorrhage in his left eye and was partially blind for six weeks. "It was frightening at the time but I was told my sight would recover - and it did."
Another bad time was at Christmas when Richard picked up a severe infection. "I had a high temperature and a chest infection. I spent Christmas and New Year in hospital but remember very little about it. I was out of it for most of the time."
During his recovery Richard was immensely cheered by the support of his family and of his friends at St John's. "Our faith was crucial. We worked out that we had more than 20 churches praying for us worldwide and I also got on very well with the hospital chaplain at St James's. It was such a source of comfort to know that people were thinking about us through a very tough time. It was a horrible winter with all the snow and ice but everyone rallied round to help us."
Richard still has to go to hospital for regular check-ups and he's also taking part in a medical trial to monitor the effect of the chemotherapy drugs. "It's not for a new drug, it's more to do with tweaking and monitoring existing treatment. It's not very pleasant because it involves bone marrow being taken from my hip. It won't benefit me personally but I feel it's important to try and help other people who may need treatment in the future."
Writing in the St John's Church magazine Richard has also endorsed appeals for people to become blood donors. "By the grace of God I am in remission. I have a summer of rest and recuperation and trips to St James's to look forward to but it's a price worth paying.
"The fact that people are willing to give blood is something we all take for granted. Apparently during times like the World Cup, the number of people coming forward to give blood goes down. There is always a need for new donors to come forward. To those people who already give blood I say a heartfelt thanks; to those who are thinking of donating, I say 'please do'."
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Weather for Halifax
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
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