Source: DailyRecord
Lesley-Ann Craddock’s husband Ashley was diagnosed with plasmablastic lymphoma last August.
After receiving the news, the family moved ahead with their daughter’s wedding, to ensure that Ashley would see it. Lesley-Ann added: “Obviously I could get a church sorted and we went straight to the King’s Park Hotel and explained that we needed to get it done.”
However, despite the diagnosis, Ashley never lost his good spirits or his positive energy, and was determined to keep going.
“I remember the doctor saying to Ashley that they could make him comfortable or they could fight it, and he replied that he would fight it all the way.”
“They used DA-Epoch to treat him, but the cancer is so rare that no trials exist, so the treatment was set by clinical dialogue and constant thorough assessment of Ashley.”
Lesley-Ann also had to perform several injections herself to help her husband, including one earlier this year when she had to inject him to help mobilize his stem cells ahead of a stem cell transplant. The injection was hugely important, and had several possible outcomes.
She explained: “It had to be done at 10pm. I didn’t realize how nervous it would make me, but I had to do it knowing that if it didn’t work that could mean the end of everything – he wouldn’t be able to take the next stage of treatment. Thankfully it was fine.”
Ashley was then taken into hospital and given a high dose of chemotherapy. He spent five weeks in isolation in hospital, but eventually the news came through that he was in remission.
Lesley-Ann said she could not praise the three hospitals that cared for her husband enough – the Queen Elizabeth, the Beatson and the Victoria, as well as the Maggie’s Cancer Centre.
She said: “They were all so helpful. There was a day when I was so low, so down, and when I walked into Maggie’s centre they didn’t look at me as a victim but just listened to what I had to say. They gave me information about support, told me I’d made some good decisions, things like that. That was so important, and everyone at every hospital or centre had a part in it.”
“The cancer care was outstanding, and I thank God we were here in King’s Park and able to have that.”
Despite such a life altering situation, Lesley-Ann says her religious faith was never shaken and added: “It never wavered, and that surprised me as I thought it might be. But it never shook at all.”
Although Ashley is now in full remission, it will take years for him to regain his strength. However Lesley-Ann is content with being able to look towards the future and added: “He’s lost a lot of muscle but we’re getting on with life again. We can enjoy things again.”
