LOCAL teenager, Daryl Allinson, is enjoying being back at home with his family after spending months in hospital receiving cancer treatment.
Family and friends started a fundraising campaign for Daryl who has a rare form of leukaemia, in June this year, to pay for a bone marrow transplant he urgently needed. In less than a month £90,000 was raised which meant he could begin treatment straight away.
Now, almost four months later, Daryl is recovering well at home and hopes to soon be well enough to start college and maybe be back on the football pitch.
Daryl said, “Things are really good, I’m a bit tired but it’s expected at this stage.
“I’m really happy to be home. It’s quite unsettling to be in hospital because you’re constantly surrounded by the feeling of being unwell. They really do try to make me as comfortable as possible but being in a hospital isn’t like being at home.
“I have a friend who moved away a couple of years ago and hopefully when he comes to visit for the day I will be able to go out and see him and even play football!”
Daryl’s mum Sam said, “We’ve been home almost three weeks now but still been to and from the hospital in Bristol a lot because Daryl has an infection in his Hickman line. He also has graft-verus-host disease (GvHD), so basically his brother’s cells are fighting off any remaining cells of his so he has bandages on his hands and he’s finding it hard to walk.
“The medicine has made him sick as well, so he can’t eat properly yet. He’s being fed through a feeding peg straight into his stomach at the moment until he can eat again.
“We’re now looking forward and trying to be as positive as we can. Daryl should have started Frome College in September but he’s not well enough at the moment and is technically still in isolation for six months at home. We still have to go careful.”
Daryl’s dad Terry said, “The family are all ok and taking each day as it comes which is all we can do. It’s hard to be too positive because we were last time when everything was going great and then within two weeks he relapsed.”
Daryl continued, “I’m getting all the side affects which I didn’t have last time which is difficult to deal with, but it’s showing it’s working. The treatment this time round was more aggressive and I had more chemotherapy and more cells from my brother Bradley.”
The family has been overwhelmed by the huge fundraising effort and amount of money raised for Daryl’s treatment.
Sam said, “The fundraising effort has been quite overwhelming and I can’t thank people enough. When something like this happens, it proves how people can come together. Everywhere I go, I get stopped by total strangers asking how Daryl is. It’s so nice to know that everyone is thinking about him.
“Parents we’ve met at the hospital can’t believe how much has been raised. The generosity of people has been incredible and overwhelming. You really do know your true friends in times like this.”
Daryl added, “I can’t thank people enough really. I want them to know that I’m doing really good, I’m happy and settled at home.”
