I have known Esther Hatton for about twenty five years. Esther was the Chairman and Secretary of the Bristol Branch during this time and I helped occasionally at some of the fundraising events such as the Pancake Races and Jumble Sales, plus the annual house to house collection.

At the age of 39, I went to the doctors for a routine blood test and a few days later I was told that I had a serious blood disease i.e. acute myeloid leukaemia. My first reaction like most people was shock and disbelief, how could I possibly have such a terrible thing happen to me when I had so many happy normal things going on in my life. It did not seem real and the strange thing was I felt so well and had not had any symptoms.