I have worked as a railman for 23 years, my 3 year old son has cancer and my plans.

[Big Jim]

Hi,
My 3 year old son William Lyne was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Type M7 in Feb 2011 (aged 2 at that time). He presented with a lot of pain early on and needed a constant morphine background to help through the days. “AML” is the Adult form of the disease (as opposed to the commonest form of “ALL” in children which thanks to research has a significantly better outlook).

He was treated as an inpatient at the Royal Marsden in Sutton, England until July 2011 when we were advised his chance of relapse was only 30%.

We were always advised that a relapse within a year would not be good as it would be hard to get William back into remission again, so were always on edge during this period.

Unfortunately William relapsed over Christmas (Christmas day was the first major and clear sign of a relapse). He has since had 3 courses of strong Chemotherapy again as an inpatient at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and is due a to start a bone marrow transplant (the only known cure following a relapse) in May again as an inpatient at the Marsden. His current chances of survival/ mortality are 50:50. The bone marrow transplant will take an average of 6 weeks as an inpatient, then many months of worry about virus/ infections which can (and have recently been seen to be) be fatal. Though clearly having a transplant in the summer is advantageous with respect to catching a Virus.

Though I wish I could cure this horrible disease, I know this is beyond me, though I can support the people who can make a difference with financial support.

With this my brother David and I + my friend/ colleague Paul Richardson have decided to cycle around the Island of Zealand in Denmark (around 260 miles) in September this year with the hope to raise money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. We plan to do the ride over 5 days.


Our charity link is:

http://www.justgiving.com/williamlyne

Though you can equally donate by mobile phone text (SMS) i.e. Lyne55 £1/ £2/ £5/ £10 TO 70070 to donate. e.g. texting LYNE55 £2 - donates two pounds.

I hope you will support me in my quest to prevent other children getting this horrendous disease.



Regards.,

James

 

[Minilad]

Hi,
My 3 year old son William Lyne was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Type M7 in Feb 2011 (aged 2 at that time). He presented with a lot of pain early on and needed a constant morphine background to help through the days. “AML” is the Adult form of the disease (as opposed to the commonest form of “ALL” in children which thanks to research has a significantly better outlook).

He was treated as an inpatient at the Royal Marsden in Sutton, England until July 2011 when we were advised his chance of relapse was only 30%.

We were always advised that a relapse within a year would not be good as it would be hard to get William back into remission again, so were always on edge during this period.

Unfortunately William relapsed over Christmas (Christmas day was the first major and clear sign of a relapse). He has since had 3 courses of strong Chemotherapy again as an inpatient at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and is due a to start a bone marrow transplant (the only known cure following a relapse) in May again as an inpatient at the Marsden. His current chances of survival/ mortality are 50:50. The bone marrow transplant will take an average of 6 weeks as an inpatient, then many months of worry about virus/ infections which can (and have recently been seen to be) be fatal. Though clearly having a transplant in the summer is advantageous with respect to catching a Virus.

Though I wish I could cure this horrible disease, I know this is beyond me, though I can support the people who can make a difference with financial support.

With this my brother David and I + my friend/ colleague Paul Richardson have decided to cycle around the Island of Zealand in Denmark (around 260 miles) in September this year with the hope to raise money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. We plan to do the ride over 5 days.


Our charity link is:

http://www.justgiving.com/williamlyne

Though you can equally donate by mobile phone text (SMS) i.e. Lyne55 £1/ £2/ £5/ £10 TO 70070 to donate. e.g. texting LYNE55 £2 - donates two pounds.

I hope you will support me in my quest to prevent other children getting this horrendous disease.



Regards.,

James

Good luck fella

 

[ralphchadkirk]

You have my strongest sympathies. I can't begin to imagine how awful it must be for you at the moment.

I will donate some money as soon as I'm able to do so.

Best of luck for you and your son.

 

[Big Jim]

Good luck fella

Thanks. He's just started his Chemo today for his Bone Marrow TRansplant.

So it's fingers crossed for us at the moment.
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You have my strongest sympathies. I can't begin to imagine how awful it must be for you at the moment.

I will donate some money as soon as I'm able to do so.

Best of luck for you and your son.

Thanks for the wishes. It's pretty grim, but at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel (so to speak on a railway forum). But with the Bone Marrow Transplant he has a chance.

The thing is when you sit next to the bed of a sick child, there's nothing you can do.

At least with this ride I can help try and fund the research which is doing so well at improving outlooks for children and adults with blood cancers.

thanks again

 

[jscho84233]

My heart goes out to you, your little lad and your family. I wish you all the best of luck with your challenge, and my thoughts will be with you all during William's transplant, and I will wish for a good result.

Donation made.

 

[Big Jim]

My heart goes out to you, your little lad and your family. I wish you all the best of luck with your challenge, and my thoughts will be with you all during William's transplant, and I will wish for a good result.

Donation made.

They're certainly good at the Royal Marsden, so just have to hope they work their magic. It's going to be an intense couple of months.

Thanks for the donation and best wishes

 

[yorkie]

Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to hear this
All the best and good luck!

 

[Big Jim]

Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to hear this
All the best and good luck!

Thanks Yorkie and for the donation also.

 

[Stephen55a1960]

Good luck to you and your son. I hope the outcome is positive.

 

[SprinterMan]

Really sorry to hear about your terrible situation. Hope things get better.
Adam

 

[tsr]

I really hope that everything gets better soon. I know someone who is going through treatment for cancer at the Royal Marsden; I have heard how good the staff are, and you know better than I do that you are in excellent hands. My very best wishes go to you (and your family) and your son for his treatment.

As for your cycle ride, I will make sure I donate when I can - charity rides can be very worthwhile indeed. I hope that all goes well and safely when you do that, too!

On a side note, welcome to the forum, and if you're ever able to find time and opportunities to post anything about your railway work, you'd be most welcome to do so.

 

[deltic1989]

I have children myself and I know how I would feel if one of them was as ill as your son, it must be terrible for you.
Myself my partner and our chilren wish you the very best of luck with your cycle ride and wish your son the very best.

As soon as i am able (which will be Tuesday at the latest) you can count on a few pounds from us towards this very worthy cause.

Good luck once again and a very warm welcome to the forum.

 

[Big Jim]

Good luck to you and your son. I hope the outcome is positive.

Thanks Stephen55a1960, hopefully it'll all work out ok
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Really sorry to hear about your terrible situation. Hope things get better.
Adam

Thanks SprinterMan. Currently on day 2 of Chemo for the BMT. just got to hope this time it does the trick.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Really sorry to hear about your terrible situation. Hope things get better.
Adam

Thanks SprinterMan. Currently on day 2 of Chemo for the BMT. just got to hope this time it does the trick.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I really hope that everything gets better soon. I know someone who is going through treatment for cancer at the Royal Marsden; I have heard how good the staff are, and you know better than I do that you are in excellent hands. My very best wishes go to you (and your family) and your son for his treatment.

As for your cycle ride, I will make sure I donate when I can - charity rides can be very worthwhile indeed. I hope that all goes well and safely when you do that, too!

On a side note, welcome to the forum, and if you're ever able to find time and opportunities to post anything about your railway work, you'd be most welcome to do so.

Thanks tsr. Yes the Royal Marsden are great and we feel lucky to be at such a great hospital.
I started as a technician for S&T in Brighton when I was 16. Have spent my whole life on the Railway and very much feel it's part of me.
I usually work on NR, but have spent quite a lot of time working on the Mid-Hants Steam Railway which was great.

Am currently working on Thameslink, but with all that's going on with William I can't work full time. Hopefully will get back to normal soon.
thanks for the message
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I have children myself and I know how I would feel if one of them was as ill as your son, it must be terrible for you.
Myself my partner and our chilren wish you the very best of luck with your cycle ride and wish your son the very best.

As soon as i am able (which will be Tuesday at the latest) you can count on a few pounds from us towards this very worthy cause.

Good luck once again and a very warm welcome to the forum.

Thanks deltic1989. It was completely upsetting when he got sick and when we found out it was Leukaemia we couldn't believe it, as these things normally happen to other people (If you know what I mean, i.e. we couldn't believe it was happening to us). But what became clear is that it's completely random who it hits, and just because we're all healthy (and so was William) it doesn't mean it can't suddenly strike.

I think it's been going on and off since Jan 2011, and we just feel like we're in a complete long term battle. When he relapsed it was like someone we'd just fallen down a well shaft (or gone into a tunnel) and knew we had a long fight ahead.

Just got to stick with it and hope all goes well. One thing we know is that he'll be infertile, which is not a great feeling knowing that your 3 year old son will never be able to have kids.

Thanks for the message

 

[Zamracene749]

Fingers crossed for your little lad m8, best of luck.

Heartfelt wishes from a fellow parent.

 

[WCMLaddict]

James,

Good luck with your fundraising effort, I'll certainly donate few pound myself.

In the meantime if you and your family need some support and financial help during these difficult times, you should contact Railway Benefit Fund.

All the best.

 

[Kneedown]

My very best wishes to all. Prayers for a speedy recovery, and to all family and loved ones also affected.

 

[Big Jim]

Fingers crossed for your little lad m8, best of luck.

Heartfelt wishes from a fellow parent.

Thanks beermaddavep. Hopefully it'll ll work out ok after this treatment.
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James,

Good luck with your fundraising effort, I'll certainly donate few pound myself.

In the meantime if you and your family need some support and financial help during these difficult times, you should contact Railway Benefit Fund.

All the best.

Thanks WCMLaddict, have to admit I hadn;t thought of that. Thankfully, financially we're ok i.e. don;t have too many debts. My wife has had to give up her job (literally resigned last week after being on unpaid leave). We realised that it's just not realistic for her to return at anytime soon.

I'm just about keeping my part time hours going, so have a small income from that.

But thanks for the thought. It's definately worth thinking about.

Thanks also for the donation. personally I feel better knowing that something is being done to try and research this disease (and other blood cancers), so at least for the future - there's come hope.
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My very best wishes to all. Prayers for a speedy recovery, and to all family and loved ones also affected.

thanks Kneedown. It's tough, but we're getting through it.

 

[WCMLaddict]

Thanks WCMLaddict, have to admit I hadn;t thought of that. Thankfully, financially we're ok i.e. don;t have too many debts. My wife has had to give up her job (literally resigned last week after being on unpaid leave). We realised that it's just not realistic for her to return at anytime soon.

I'm just about keeping my part time hours going, so have a small income from that.

But thanks for the thought. It's definately worth thinking about.

Thanks also for the donation. personally I feel better knowing that something is being done to try and research this disease (and other blood cancers), so at least for the future - there's come hope.

Fair enough James, but please don't hesitate to get in touch with them if you all even just think about something that you might need help with.

 

[phil281]

Wish all the best for your son, you and your family, I hope he pulls through. I have donated some money too.

 

[221129]

Best Wishes i will donate when i can Good Luck

 

[Big Jim]

Wish all the best for your son, you and your family, I hope he pulls through. I have donated some money too.

Thanks phil281. Very much appreciated.
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Best Wishes i will donate when i can Good Luck

thanks ollieb. He's currently on day 2 of his Bone Marrow conditioning Chemo, so just have to hope the Dr's at the Marsden can work their magic.
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Fair enough James, but please don't hesitate to get in touch with them if you all even just think about something that you might need help with.

Thanks, I have heard of the fund, but it completely slipped my mind until you mentioned it. Will definately have a think.
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Just wanted to thank all those who have donated. I really appreciate it very much.

William is currently on day 3 of his conditioning chemo and his new stem cells are due to go in a week today.

 

[Darandio]

Good luck James, no hesitation in donating.

 

[Big Jim]

Good luck James, no hesitation in donating.

Thanks Darindio.

 

[potterguy]

Good Luck, just put in £30

 

[Big Jim]

Good Luck, just put in £30

Thanks for the generous donation potterguy
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thanks for the other donations also

 

[Drsatan]

Good luck, just donated £20.

 

[Big Jim]

Good luck, just donated £20.

Thanks very much Drsatan.

He's currently on day 5 of his conditioning Chemo. Next Thursday he gets his new stem cells. It'll be his 2nd birthday.

Thanks again for the donation

 

[Smudger105e]

I am trying to get a loco nameplate off my Company for you to auction off. Don't know how successful I'll be, but they have donated one to me before to raise funds...

 

[Big Jim]

I am trying to get a loco nameplate off my Company for you to auction off. Don't know how successful I'll be, but they have donated one to me before to raise funds...

Brilliant. thanks very much for trying.

 

[NXEA!]

Really moving stuff there Big Jim, I hope everything works out for the best for you, your little boy and your family, can't imagine what you're going through right now. I just did the SMS donation thing, good luck with everything buddy.