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<div>Hi, my name's Connie, and I'm fundraising to give my dad a little bit of good news and something to look forward to.
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<div>For months now, my dad has been struggling with swallowing difficulties, and he has lost so much weight. My dad has always been a big man, and on the 5th of July, he came to my house for a roast dinner. He was having a cup of tea on my sofa when he suddenly started choking because it went down the wrong way. Instead of spitting it out because he didn't want to ruin my floor, he tried to make it to the back door. This resulted in him passing out and splitting his head open in the kitchen as he hit the radiator.
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<div>It was the most horrible thing I have ever witnessed. I genuinely thought I'd lost my dad there and then.
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<div>We took him to A&amp;E, where they stitched him up and gave him a CT scan. They said that if the scan was clear, he could go home. However, his blood results showed that his salt levels were very low, so they decided to keep him in overnight.
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<div>The following day, the doctors noticed that he was struggling to swallow and was coughing and choking on everything he tried to eat or drink. That's when the investigations began. It turned out that he was aspirating everything he consumed, meaning that both food and fluids were going into his lungs. This finally gave us answers as to why he had been suffering from repeated chest infections, including pneumonia just before Christmas.
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<div>They placed him on nil by mouth while the investigations continued. Sadly, an MRI revealed that my dad has head and neck cancer called oropharyngeal carcinoma.
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<div>As a result, my dad is now being fed through a nasogastric (NG) feeding tube to ensure he gets the nutrition and fluids his body needs. He is no longer able to eat or drink normally, which has been incredibly difficult for him and for all of us to witness. It's a huge adjustment, but the feeding tube is helping to keep him strong enough for the treatment he has ahead.
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<div>As a family, we are absolutely devastated. My dad has 8 children, and his youngest is only 8 years old.
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<div>My dad has now been transferred to Aintree Hospital, where over the coming months he will undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and he may also need surgery.
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<div>Before we begin this long and difficult journey, I would love to raise enough money to give my dad the chance to make precious memories by taking a holiday with his children.
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<div>As heartbreaking as this diagnosis is, we are trying to see one blessing in it all. If my dad hadn't passed out in my kitchen on the 5th of July, we may never have discovered the cancer when we did. As frightening as that day was, it may have saved his life.
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<div>Any donation, no matter how small, would mean the world to our family. If you're unable to donate, simply sharing this fundraiser would help more than you know.
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<div>Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and for any support you can give.
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<div>With love,
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<div>Connie
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Still £2,219 to go. Help us build momentum.