News / #Donate4Mike
#Donate4Mike campaign couple celebrate remission
The Westbury couple who crowdfunded over £400,000 for lifesaving cancer treatment for Mike Brandon now say that he is remission and “flying from strength to strength.”
In a heartfelt update on their Go Fund Me page, Mike’s wife Kate writes:
“We had Mike’s one-year follow-up back in Philadelphia in June and Mike is still in complete remission! This is BIG news. To hit the one-year marker is very significant post-CAR T Cell treatment and we have absolutely smashed it! We still have some milestones to go (as always) but I cannot begin to describe the relief at getting to this one.
is needed now More than ever
“I can’t believe we have made it. Making that video a little over a year ago, I was broken. I did have some hope but really I felt like I was just desperately grasping at straws. There were so many hurdles to overcome, let alone the teeny matter of making nearly half a million pounds! The odds were stacked against us, but it all blooming worked! To be writing these words to you, I am already welling up. I am still in shock even a year on. I have my husband back. I have my life back. I couldn’t have done it without you!”
Kate shared images of the couple’s first holiday together, and of their new addition to the family – a dog named Pablo – who they describe as “a lot of work but a true treasure”.
Kate had just 60 days to find a stem cell match for Mike after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014. A donor was found following a nationwide campaign, but when the cancer returned, it became necessary for the couple to raise £400,000 for revolutionary treatment in the US. Now, it seems it was all worth it as the treatment has been a success.
“We have been shown the utmost generosity, kindness, care and love beyond any expectation and I thank you all from the bottom of my bulging heart,” Kate’s statement continues.
“Going through this experience does scar you a little; death always sits on your shoulder, hanging around taunting heartlessly with your thoughts. When that happens, I take a breath and remember the chance you all gave us and with the power of that positivity I feel determined to enjoy each day. With each week that passes we both feel a little stronger and more relaxed. It is so utterly heart-warming to see Mike start to really live life again. The beauty of normality.
“You really do learn to find a renewed appreciation of the smaller things. When he was going through the ‘cytokine storm’ with the treatment last summer, he couldn’t lie flat for six weeks. Now, seeing him sleep comfortably and peacefully each morning and night is the most heartwarming of all.
“Miracles do happen. They happen because of people like you.”
Read more: Westbury woman raises £400k to save husband
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