Sponsored by
Cancer survivor thanks sister for saving his life with trip to Disneyland
No Caption ABCDE
A youngster who was given four weeks to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer is thanking his sister who saved him by taking her to Disneyland.
At just 14 years old, Jamie Lear of Lower Shelton Road, Marston Moretaine, was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma Non Hodgkins.
He was given a 20 per cent chance of survival if he underwent a bone marrow transplant. And in only a one-in-four chance, his sister, Niamh, turned out to be a perfect match.
Niamh, 19, said: “Donating my bone marrow to Jamie was something that any sibling would have done.
“I hope that by reading this more young people will sign up to the Anthony Nolan register or the British Bone Marrow register to donate, as you never know who might need it.”
Three years on Jamie, 17, is now in remission and has focused his determination on making his sister happy after all they have been through by taking her to Disneyland Florida with their parents.
And The Kids Cancer charity, which supports families affected by children’s cancer, offered Jamie the opportunity to stay at a charity venue called Give Kids the World, to make his dream possible.
But the family had to raise a contribution of £750 towards the cost of the stay which had to be from sponsorship or donations, so Jamie made it his mission to cycle 5kmto raise enough money, despite having daily injections and the possibility of knee and hip replacements in the future.
He set himself a challenge at Flitwick Leisure Centre on Friday where he was joined by staff and customers who kept one bike running from 7am until 10pm and covered a distance of 236 miles over the 15 hours.
Jamie’s dad Adrian said: “When we found out about the cancer, it was devastating. Niamh was so scared that she would let Jamie down if she wasn’t a match, but she was and she saved his life.
“We are extremely proud of him. And now we are going to spend time together as a family and I think after everything we have been through lately, we deserve it.”
@LBOamanda
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bedford
Saturday 25 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
