Summer of fundraising for Devon …

Myself, Anne-Marie and Bex will be taking the jump this summer and doing a summer of fundraising including a sky dive, charity gig and more in hopes to raise as much money as we can to help fund our lovely colleague and dearest friend Devons’ treatment.

Devon has unfortunately been given only a few years to live having battled cancer for a couple of years now but with some more chemo and a break through vaccine, fingers crossed we can hold onto our beautiful friend.

Devon has been on a waiting list for treatment and is now due to start chemo in June with a hope to starting the vaccine in September but of course, this comes at a price and a very hefty one, at that which is where all of you lovely human beings come in.

Please read Devons’ Story below from his point of view❤️

Hi my names devon. I am 29 years old and for the last few years I have been fighting embreotic carcinoma. It has been a fight I haven’t forgotten - I have fallen and got up a million times. But I have met some amazing people along the way and helped people in their darkest times. I have unfortunately been given 2 to 3 years left to enjoy this wonderful planet we live on. I would love to see some amazing sights and sounds and meet some amazing people to share my story with so I am wondering if you could help me.....

I feel like I need to go in more detail and tell you all my story so here we go. On the 1st of February 2020 I spotted a lump on my testicle. I didn’t think much of it but was worried so I called my doctor and managed to get an appointment the next day - she told me it was probably a cyst but to do an ultra sound. 3 weeks of waiting I got to go in for one. The guy checked me over and let me go. He could see some shadows but wouldnt say what they were or what they could be. 2 weeks later from that I was called in for a consultation - they told me it was suspected testicular cancer as he could see a shadow on the testicular and inside but wouldnt know for certain with out doing a radical orthadectimy. (At this point i wasnt really that botherd as he said its normally cut it off and move on. No chemo no surviving cancer or even a battle so it was an easy choice) I had 4 days to surgery and during that time I had to go to a sperm bank before just to make sure I could have kids after surgery. The day comes and im (pooping my self) think this is when it dawned on me that this was real. Surgery went with out a hitch and I had to wait for the results of the tests - I had to heal up and was in agony so didnt think to much of it . Then d day comes. I find out I have embreotic carcinoma a pretty crappy cancer to have as its so aggressive and fast to move around the body. I was told I needed to have chemo - it was called bep (don’t ask me what was in it. I think one was platinum and epitomised nasty stuff) I would have 8 hours a day for 3 weeks for 3 cycles. ( I have honestly never been so unprepared for anything in my life) I was devastated. I signed the waver accepting that I could die, heart failure, kidney failure, blood clotting,vein collapse, etc it wasnt a nice one to read.

So started the following week and day one. I went in sh#tting a brick. Guys is pretty and a nice place but I noticed the smell in the chemo ward and it is and was a smell I will never forget. It is so clean but almost to clean by the end of my chemo and I hated it. Any way they ask do you have allergies and your name and you sit and wait then you get called in to the chemo ward and theres about 20 pink recliners with everyone hooked up to drips ( this point I realised I was not ready for this. I honestly have never wanted to run away as much as that moment) I sit and go through my plan and get hooked up and those first few days I would not talk to anyone. I was a man. I could deal with it. Heads up I crumbled.

The first 2 days I was ok but then it got really hard. I felt nauseous, didn’t want to eat. Could taste metal and was alone. I started face timing friends, family, anything to keep me going but I couldn’t. I broke and broke big time . I remember looking at these men and women some with hair some with out and just feeling so weak that I have done this for only a couple of days and im already crying. But, eventually I started to speak to these heroes and made new friends. I got through my chemo, I still don’t know how and got the all clear for remission - I even rang the bell .

Unfortunately cancer doesnt just end and after months of tests for tumor markers they started to rise so had more scans and the cancer was in my lympnodes ( basically your bodys high way ) and thigh and it has kept on spreading till I got to where I am now with a terminal diagnosis.

So that leads me to today. Yes my time is currently limited, everyones is but I wanna see and do things. I want to continue to live my life and for that I need your support so please from a guy who has been humbled, dig deep and please spread this around❤️