BRUISED BUT NOT BEATEN

A good looking bunch..... I'd say happy and vibrant, full of life....fit and HEALTHY!! Cheeky faces...fun times!!! Unique as a family....and yet to all intents and purposes, a normal family..no big dramas, no great shakes!!

Normal? Well as normal as you can get....what does it mean to be 'normal' anyway?? Sam? An all round good guy; a great dad, a loving husband, a talented fellow in so many ways. My cousin........a normal guy?? When does normal become abnormal, in the nicest possible sense mate!? ;) Is it when common becomes rare in a matter of days....is it when your life is suddenly turned upside down?? Is it when your HEALTH suddenly lets you down without any warning, with no prior cause for concern, nothing whatsoever to do with lifestyle choices. No blame....nothing that could have been done to avoid it, no way around it. Your life, what you can and can't manage to do, what you can and can't eat....what you suddenly start thinking about like never before. The future? Daily routines change.... you can't just do what you want to do anymore, even if you didn't think you were doing what you wanted to do before....you start to miss work!! Really!?!?!?! You start to miss 'normal'....to pine for it...and yet you have to make do with a new life, someone else's life and yet your own. You have to live differently....to accept for now.....to make changes, to learn to manage....to COPE!! To fight!!!!!!!! To remain positive and hopeful........

This is Sam's story...his life...his new reality!! But not one that he wants to take centre stage, not one that he wants to take over everything; not to rule or dominate him; to NOT let it define him; to not let the limitations of illness shape every aspect of who he is....for he is who he always was. He is SO much more than this CONDITION and he will BEAT this. We will BEAT it together...defeat is not an option!!!! Victory is ours....we just have to wait for it, but not passively, not indifferently, not because we have to......but to HOPE, for we have HOPE!!!! This is Sam's life....Sam's story.

It started with a few odd bruises appearing on his body for no apparent reason....'slightly alarming' becomes a SHOCK to the system, suddenly!!! Something you can never predict or prepare yourself to hear.... "it's serious"!!! Even "life threatening"...what horrible words!!! But NOT overcome....NOTHING is decided yet!! BRUISED BUT NOT BEATEN!!!!!

Sam soon discovered that the bruising was due to something altogether more sinister than he would have ever liked to believe....but believe it he must!! WE must.....that we can face it and deal with it together. WE WILL FIGHT THIS WITH SAM!!
A life turned upside down almost over night. But something that Sam does not have to grapple with on his own....'bruised but not beaten, beauty from pain!!

So he's told it's serious...life threatening. Who wants to believe that...who wants to accept that kind of news?? It's a condition that I'd never heard of before, quite possibly Sam hadn't....it could choose anyone. It could choose YOU....it could choose me...it chose Sam!!! The word UNFAIR springs to mind....I want to shout it!! WHY?? There's another word....
Because you want to help someone who didn't choose this, someone who could'nt do anything to prevent it, someone who doesn't deserve it.....because it could be YOU!!! Put yourself in Sam's position....think of how you would feel. Don't just think about it.....ACT!!!!

Friends.....please join with Sam, his immediate family, his wider family, his support network of friends, the company he works for....  join and agree to BEAT this together! We can do this in a number of ways....PRAY!!!....there's a good one. But giving via this page is another....it won't take the illness away but it will help with costs of living while he is unwell and going through treatment, it will help with travel and parking expenses, it will help to lessen the burden, if only a little bit. And how GREAT would it be to send Sam and family on a wonderful holiday when it's all done....or sooner!! Again to make it more bearable....to have something to look forward to!!! : )

Sam is suffering from a serious, life-threatening condition, very severe
Aplastic anaemia (The Aplastic Anaemia Trust). His sister, Tillie, has been tested to identify if she is compatible to allow a bone marrow transplant....she isn't!! Almost but not quite....close but no cigar!! So....what next I hear you cry??? Well if your sister can't help despite eager willingness (not in this way anyway Tillie) how about horses?? Champion the wonder horse....do you remember him? Black Beauty? Sherga?? How about rabbits....Bugs Bunny, Peter Rabbit, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, the bunnies from Watership Down??? Well, as crazy as it sounds.....that's what Sam is faced with. Well almost....and the results are quite good. Success rate? Quite high!! But a lengthy process, potentially serious side effects, periods of isolation away from his young family (the last thing he would want!!)...a lot of time in HOSPITAL!!! All the time he's having this treatment he will be eagerly, and sometimes anxiously, waiting for a matching donor to allow a tranplant. This is the ultimate goal in terms of treatment.