BRAVE ANDREW IS DETERMINED TO HELP THOSE WHO HELPED HIM

t the age of just 3½, Andrew Ferguson was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), which is the commonest childhood cancer. After years of grueling treatment, Andrew is now in long-term remission (cancer can never be said to be cured). But that does not mean he sits back and lets life pass him buy! Andrew, now 34, is doing all he can to celebrate his health and push his body to the limit whilst raising funds to help others with similar life-threatening illnesses.

Andrew’s family will be eternally grateful for the support Candlelighters gave them when he was a small child. He was diagnosed with cancer on Friday 13th November 1987 and immediately rushed to St James’s Hospital in Leeds, which was
the local centre for treating childhood cancers at the time. There followed 3-4 years of treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which caused huge expense and emotional turmoil on his mother, father and older sibling.

His mother had to move to Leeds to be with him, his brother had to stay with friends and his father, who continued to work as much as he could to support his family financially, was constantly backwards and forwards between Beverley and
Leeds.

Andrew can’t remember much of his treatment. His family told him that all children lived in hospital, were given drugs through a drip and radiotherapy and felt unwell, which he accepted as he was so young he did not understand what was going on. He knows he was so ill he nearly died of septicaemia after his second course of chemotherapy but today he is so well that he
competes in Ironman competitions, has a full-time job and doesn’t need to see a Consultant. He has to monitor his lifestyle a little bit - not too many take-aways for example and he has to go to hospital for dental treatment - but it’s the memories of the way in which Candlelighters supported his family which pushes him to help them through achieving levels of fitness which will
encourage people to sponsor him.

Candlelighters help with financial and emotional support, facilitate holidays and hold events, help on the wards, invest in research, maintain networks and fund a bus which is used as a travelling drop-in centre. Unless you have experienced the worry of having a child or sibling with cancer, it is impossible to understand the impact it can have on you as a family.
Andrew says his experience has enabled him to become a very positive person, because everyone he met in Leeds and through Candlelighters was positive.

So Andrew is now undertaking a series of challenges to raise funds and he would love as much sponsorship as possible - even if that is only £1 from everyone who reads this article, he would raise £20,000 or more! He’s cycling, running
and swimming in a variety of races, including an Olympic distance Triathlon, Hell on the Humber endurance run and a ½ Ironman between now and September, so there’s plenty of opportunities to give him your support.

He has a Just Giving page to sign up to and you can follow his progress on his Facebook page. If there are any companies which would like to offer sponsorship to Andrew, please get in touch with him on 07511 925190.
https://www.facebook.com/justkeepgoing1
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andrewferguson25