My name is Nichola, and I’ve started this GoFund me to assist My very good friend Debbie and Her Husband Darren, whilst they go through the unimaginable nightmare of him battling an insidious disease that is leukemia.

In March of this year Darren was having trouble with his sense of smell so he went to the Doctor. Due to kidney stones that he'd had previously, they carried out a blood test and the results came back with an abnormally low white blood cell count. Darren had multiple B12 injections to try to raise the count level with no success, and his white blood cell count continued to drop. Darren was referred to a Haematologist for further testing. This involved more blood work, two consultant appointments, a CT scan and then finally a bone marrow sample was taken. Two days after he was informed that he had to go straight over to Southampton Hospital and on the 17th of May 2024 Darren was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Before starting treatment, the Doctors and specialists had to determine which chemotherapy would be suitable for Darren and that he was as healthy as possible to receive the first round. This process took two weeks and on the 31st May he finally started his first treatment of twenty doses of chemotherapy over seven days. This was followed by blood transfusions, platelets and daily blood tests to see if the chemo had sent him into remission. His bloods showed the presence of "bad cells" so a bone marrow biopsy was performed. Unfortunately, this showed the chemotherapy had not been a success and the specialists would like to start the second round immediately, which is far more aggressive.

Darren has a severely compromised immune system and hasn’t been able to see his two youngest children since the 17th May be due to the risk they pose to him, both being under the age of 12 and children being more likely to carry germs and bacteria that could be potentially fatal if passed to Darren. He has seen his eldest son which has been good for his morale but as you can imagine being away from his family and confined to four walls for weeks on end is beyond awful and his children are missing him terribly. He will be unable to go home for a further 6-7 weeks and this will be entirely dependent on the success of the next round of chemo. There is a very high chance that Darren will require a bone marrow transplant at some stage, but we are all hoping and praying that this will not be the case.

Debbie has made the journey to Southampton Hospital to be by her husband’s side around 34 times since his diagnosis in May, and this number will likely run well into triple digits. The journey off the Island as we all know, is expensive and inconvenient at the best of times. A day return ticket on the Red Jet and Taxi to Southampton Hospital is costing upwards of £40 every day that Debbie visits. There are no concessions or financial assistance for families having treatment in hospitals on the mainland. Unfortunately, our only hospital on the Isle of wight doesn’t have the facilities to treat Leukemia, so making this journey is an absolute necessity for Debbie right now to give Darren the care and support he needs. I know of so many families on the Island that have experienced the difficulties of loved ones being admitted long term to hospitals on the mainland, and I know that our Island community is second to none when it comes to rallying around when one of us needs it the most.

I would like for Debbie, Darren and their family to not have the added financial stress on top of everything else during this awful time, especially with Darren being off work for the foreseeable future. At the end of this dark uncertain time, when Darren has won this battle, it would be so wonderful for him to be able to enjoy much needed time with his family without the worry of having to go straight back to work. Despite being extremely unwell, as we all know the bills do not stop. Debbie still has two children to care for, a home to manage and a job to attend. She is an inspiration, and her strength is beyond admirable.

Any donation, no matter the size will be so greatly appreciated and will make the biggest impact. Debbie and Darren have a wonderful family unit who are supporting them through this time, and I know that so many of their friends and loved ones would love a way to contribute too!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read, donate and if you can, share this with as many friends, family and work colleagues as possible.