Alex’s family getaway
Alex was able to relax and have fun with his wife, Amie, and their two children on his Special Break, creating everlasting memories with his family.
“Seeing my family happy and together is all I wanted.”
Alex’s story
“I have a young family – my son, Oscar, is seven, and my daughter, Phoebe, has just turned one. Due to weekly hospital treatments, I’m no longer able to work, so I’m now focused on being a stay-at-home dad, looking after the kids while Amie works. My main interest is my family spending quality time together and making the most of the things they enjoy.
“In 2023, I was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in my left eye, which led to the removal of my eye. Two years later, I received the devastating news that the cancer had spread to my liver and was now considered terminal, with an initial prognosis of just nine months.
“After pushing to access a new treatment, I’m still here 14 months later continuing to fight. Encouragingly, the treatment is showing signs of working, with cancer beginning to shrink, something that wasn’t expected.
“However, after each treatment, I’m usually bedridden for a couple of days while I recover, which means my wife has to manage and support our young family on her own during that time. I’ve also had to put my career on hold while I focus on this fight. With so much uncertainty about what the future holds, my priority now is to spend as much time as possible with my family, rather than being at work.”
“Seeing the joy on my wife’s face, seeing us all having fun, happy and just being together brought me joy.”
“For our Special Break, we spent four days in Great Yarmouth, taking time to relax and enjoy being together as a family. We were incredibly grateful to be provided with a holiday cabin for four nights, along with day trips for us all to enjoy. It was so special to see everyone having fun and just being together as it gave us a chance to forget about hospitals and treatment for a while. This break was exactly what we needed and gave us all a renewed boost to stay strong as a family.
“My personal highlight of the holiday was seeing my daughter experience the beach for the very first time. We didn’t know how she would react to the sand, but the moment she touched it, she absolutely loved it! We could hardly get her to leave. We were also given tickets to a holiday adventure park.
“As we went on during the week, it was nice and quiet, which meant my son could run free and enjoy all the rides without queues or limits on how many times he could go on them. Seeing the joy on my wife’s face, seeing us all having fun, happy and just being together brought me joy.
“Most importantly, it’s the memories we made together as a family that mean the most. It was simple moments like these that allowed us, even if just for a little while, to forget about my diagnosis. Seeing my family happy and together is all I wanted.”
Willow provides special experiences for seriously ill young adults, like Alex. Donate today to help more families create lasting memories.