Harpal Mall

When I was diagnosed with leukaemia I remember just feeling really shocked. I honestly thought this would never happen to me. I had lost my mum to cancer only three years earlier and my family had found it very difficult to deal with her diagnosis and so I knew it was going to be hard for us all dealing with my blood cancer.

All I could think was ‘Will I miss out on seeing my children grow up?’ As you can imagine my family and friends were in as much shock as me. Their initial reactions were ‘why?’ and ‘How has this happened to you?’ I could see and feel the fear and worry in when they heard the word leukaemia. Everyone around me appeared to fall apart as they feared the worse.

As a young mum of two children, Anais, who was five months old at the time and Eashan who was just two years old, my priority, was my family and I didn’t want to think about leaving them.

Then I was given hope –I was told about Cure Leukaemia.

Knowing Cure Leukaemia was there offered tremendous reassurance that there was hope for me and my family and I knew I was being treated in the best place possible; The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

The devotion to my care by all of the staff was overwhelming and I cannot thank them enough. Since being diagnosed I have stayed in touch with the Cure Leukaemia team and in September 2011 my husband, Jason and I organised a ‘beat it’ event in Birmingham, raising over £13,000 to help save the lives of more people suffering from leukaemia. With the help and dedication of my family, we were able to reach an audience of over 450 people, helping to raise vital funds and awareness for Cure Leukaemia.