In which The Author marks a double celebration
I’ve spent most of this week trying to think of something suitably momentous for the 500th (official) post in this blog. About half an hour ago, the perfect subject fell into my lap. Let me explain…
My regular readers will already know about my ongoing fundraising (and awareness raising) for the Anthony Nolan Trust. For the benefit of new readers, here’s a quick summary:
Last summer, the UK’s conventional and social media were full of a young man from Bristol named Mike Brandon. He was suffering from a rare form of leukaemia, and his family and friends were trying to find a suitable stem cell donor so that he could receive the vital treatment. Mike’s fiancée Kate is related to my mother’s next-door neighbour Terri. That chain of connections meant that I got asked to help spread the word, which I was only too pleased to do. I wrote several blogs about the campaign, went mental with the Shake4Mike hashtag on Twitter (getting retweets from a fair number of famous people into the bargain), and roped several of my student friends in to spreading the word around their campuses.
I’ve been updating you about Mike’s situation every so often, as well as giving my Facebook pals regular updates about the progress of the Anthony Nolan collection boxes. Only a couple of weeks ago I paid in £60.00, which had been kindly donated by the owners and customers of the Pagoda Cantonese Takeaway in Gadlys Road. I called in last night and Thi Nga was displaying the ‘Thank You’ certificate proudly on the wall.
This afternoon, I’ve paid in another £17.00 – a combined total from the Gloster Arms and the now-closed A1 Electricals. (As well as those places, you can find collection boxes dotted here and there: Spectol Dispensing Opticians, Aberdare; the Lighthouse, Aberdare; the Vapour Den, Aberdare; the Brunel Arms, Pontyclun, and the Bridge Inn, Ebbw Vale.)
As usual, I posted the news on Facebook, and I’ve just had a message from Terri. She thanked me for keeping the momentum going, and gave me some fantastic news.
Mike and Kate were married last Saturday.
They had a register office wedding in April, and Mike was in hospital just a few days before last week’s ceremony. He’s still quite poorly, but is responding well to the treatment. Terri sent me some photos of the ceremony, and I can’t believe how well he looks.
If you had any lingering doubts about the benefits of signing up for the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Donor Register, have a good look at that photo. This time last year, it was almost inconceivable that Mike would see his wedding day.
Then a miracle happened, and a suitable donor was found. Everyone who’s registered their tissue type, everyone who’s donated money, everyone who’s spread the word about the campaign, everyone who’s done a sponsored event or organised an awareness event, should look at this photo and feel a little warm glow inside. It does matter, and it does make a difference.
I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing Mike and Kate all the very best wishes for their future together. I still haven’t stopped smiling, to be honest.
An Autobiography in Random Chapters 
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