|  | Andy was like any other 18-year-old when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in September 2003. He'd just got his A-level results and been offered a place at university.
CML is very rare in young people and Andy’s only hope of cure was a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor found through volunteer stem cell donation registries.
To make matters worse for Andy and his family, his Mum had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer just months before. Her goal was to see her son get through his transplant, and beat blood cancer.
Andy received chemotherapy while waiting for a donor with the right tissue type to be found.
"I was on hydroxyurea and couldn’t believe just how normal a life I could lead pre-transplant," Andy remembers.
In fact, Andy was in such good shape leading up to his life-saving treatment that he even ran the London Marathon in April 2004, just a month before he had his transplant!
The stem cell transplant left Andy very weak and susceptible to infections. He lost a lot of weight and muscle definition, and all his hair as a result of the chemotherapy conditioning required for the transplant.
Andy said, "When you have a bone marrow transplant you are effectively given a blank canvas to start again."
Now almost a year after his transplant, Andy is well on his way to recovery, despite having a few colds and a bout of chicken pox. He is enjoying his first year of university and has even run his second London Marathon!
Recovering from leukaemia gave Andy a new perspective on life.
He says, "Life is far, far too short to get worried about things I used to think were important, like whether Arsenal win or lose."
|
| |
| | This is Andy at the England World Cup semi-final in Sydney in November 2003, less than a month before a compatible stem cell donor was found.
Andy also featured in a television programme called 'Dying to Live'- part of the BBC's 'ONE life' series aired in October 2004.
| |
|
