Sean's trip to Lourdes

Hi everyone

My name is Sean, and up to March 2018, I lived a full and happy life with my lovely wife, Christine, and my boys Connor and Liam. I loved my job, our camping holidays, and fishing trips to Scotland every year; life felt great, and there was no reason to think otherwise. 

However, in March, I collapsed when out for our Sunday walk up in the woods, got rushed into hospital for Xrays etc., and after many, many more, it eventually led to the news weeks later, following a CAT scan, that I had cancer that had already spread to just about every part of my body,....somewhat devastating news, and I will never forget being sat it that room with my wife and kids and them having to listen to this terrible news that I was terminally ill, and there was nothing at all I could do to comfort them. I've never felt so small and powerless in my life.

Anyhow, I decided there and then the I had to be prepared to do whatever it took to continue my life here with my amazing family who declared their commitment to back me every step of the way, even though the severity of the cancer was already way beyond trying to 'catch things early' as they say, but to be honest, it didn't really deter me in my plans because leaving my family was not something I was prepared to do, whatever the doctor were saying.

Anyway, from then they started me on cycles of Immunotherapy treatment every other week for 16 months, then it stopped working on the cancer.

This was followed by 18 months of Chemotherapy every 3 weeks til that stopped working, in between this I had 12 Cancer tumours Gamma lasered off my brain in 4 separate operations, various lots of radiotherapy to numerous parts of my neck, chest, legs etc., and lastly a massive dose of radiation to my brain to try and hold back the spread, which brings us bang up to date today.

All that said and done, the 4 and a half years have been incredible with the treatments and care that I have recieved from the hospital and St Gemmas, I have no idea how I would have coped without their constant help.

So now I find myself with no more drugs to help, except morphine for pain control, but still hold out hope that a phone call will come as they have in the past, to say that something new has come out of the laboratory testing that they can run on me to see if it helps, and of course I will try that and anything else that even shows the slightest sign of helping my situation.

The time has taken its toll, and I am desperate to remain positive and upbeat in the hope of something soon, but for now, I am hoping to get 9 days of respite and healing from a visit to Lourdes. The time there will be just magical, and needless to say spent praying for the miracle of life to stay with me and have more time to enjoy my family and wonderful friends who have supported me so far.

I will be sincere, I have kept the energy tanks as full as possible, but they are in serious need of a long rest and replenishment as I'm sure you can imagine. The trip to Lourdes if I can somehow get it financed, will be the key to breathing new life into this old body and get ready for the next series of battles to stay alive. 

I will be eternally grateful if you can donate whatever it is you can afford, no matter how little will make a big difference to get me and my carer across to Lourdes. I've spoken to many people who have done the pilgrimage, and if I can get even a fraction of the energy from the visit that they have, I'm positive that I will be fully armed to continue battling this awful disease............I just need your help to get me there and I will face the rest with the same passion for life that has got me through this far, and go on to make many more memories with Christine Connor and Liam. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and please, can I ask even if you can't donate, if you can share this with your friends in the hope of getting me to Lourdes.