Aman's Walk All Over Cancer Fundraising Page

This is my story and the reason why I am fundraising for cancer research.. In 2019 my dad was infected with EBV virus (Epstein-Barr Virus).. For months he was in agony and pain, constant high temperature, he had lost his appetite and hardly found the strength to walk. For someone who was extremely active to suddenly becoming dependent on others to help him get up and move around the house was quickly becoming a concern and worry for us all.. After several visits to the doctors (complaining) he was finally referred to St Mary’s hospital in Paddington who specialise in infections. He was admitted straight away as his condition was worsening, after a few days we were informed that he had EBV virus and the worse part was that his own white blood cells which should have been protecting him, were in fact attacking him. He was kept in isolation for 2/3 weeks, minimal visits were allowed and full PPE had to be worn before entering his room. The virus had aggressively turned into non Hodgkin’s lymphoma which is a type of cancer, sadly it had reached stage 4.. A white blood cell transplant was needed immediately in order for my dad to recover and fight this however he needed a transplant match. Luckily his older sibling from Canada matched 100% and things looked positive (finally I could breath). The transplant was done and the doctors were pleased as my dads body had started accepting the new cells however as his immune system was still extremely low he caught several infections within a short space of time.. The infections spread soo rapidly in his body that he was struggling to function, he was unconscious, his kidneys started giving up, liver stopped functioning, he went into cardiac arrest and had to be taken into ICU where he fought long and hard for his life. For 2 weeks I slept at the hospital (pulling chairs together to make a bed) as I refused to go home. It was heartbreaking seeing him like this, I felt soo hopeless and wished I could somehow help ease his pain. After a couple of days we were told that my dad had made some improvement and hopefully he will pull through. I couldn’t be happier so I slept that night with soo many thoughts running through my mind eagerly waiting for the time when he will open his eyes again and when he will talk again. In the early hours the very next morning around 5am I heard the waiting room doors open where I was sleeping, I could see my dads nurse was standing in front of me. I immediately got up and asked what had happened (my heart was beating) she asked me to go into the ICU ward with her as my dad wasn’t doing well. I was then told that my dad had deteriorated and had taken a U turn for the worse overnight, his body had completely shut down. He was on a life support machine, the only organ functioning was his brain. I held my dad in my arms and cried, it felt soo surreal, I couldn’t believe what was happening. I wasn’t ready to let him go, I wasn’t ready to switch off the life support machine. Sadly the time had come and we had to say goodbye, my entire world shattered in front of my eyes. My dad was my best friend, life will never be the same without him. I want to help raise money in memory of my dad, it’s a great cause so please help by donating a much as you can for Cancer Research UK