A Scots dad is about to trip 3,500km to lift cash for Remedy Leukaemia after his younger daughter was recognized with most cancers.
Allan Dickson, 54, from Newton Mearns, begins The Tour 21 on Friday, June 24, driving 100 miles per day till Sunday, July 17.
It comes after his daughter Liv, 14, was recognized with cute lymphoblastic leukaemia in November 2020, when she was simply 12.
Allan spoke to Glasgow Dwell in regards to the stresses of Liv's therapy in addition to how proud he's of Liv for dealing with the illness.
He additionally defined his arduous coaching for the biking occasion, which is able to see him comply with the identical route because the Tour de France.
Allan, who's a recruitment marketing consultant and married to Abigail, 46, mentioned: "She was 12, and needed to give up her gymnastics for some time as a result of she dislocated her knee 4 or 5 occasions. What they discovered was that the again of her knee hadn't developed correctly.
"As a result of it was throughout lockdown, I attempted to get her an appointment with the physician, an internet appointment.
"Sarcastically, that day she had been recognized, I had an appointment with the physician. So she had gone to high school that day, and he or she had a temperature, and the varsity thought she had covid.
"My spouse picked her up and took her for the covid take a look at, within the meantime I had a dialog with the physician and mentioned her signs.
"I mentioned that 'possibly I sound like a paranoid dad or mum, however I am simply involved there's possibly extra to this than rising pains'."
The physician informed Allan she would really like Liv to be taken in for assessments, after talking with a colleague.
In the meantime, the physician testing Liv for covid additionally determined that she wanted an extra evaluation after there have been marks discovered on her legs, which is one other signal of leukaemia.
After assessments at Queen Elizabeth College Hospital in Glasgow, Liv was despatched dwelling and the household informed they'd be contacted with any updates. Round 11.15pm, the hospital referred to as to say they wanted Liv to come back in instantly.
"We took her in, they did some extra assessments, and he or she was recognized that night time with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
"You beat your self up as a dad or mum, you assume you need to have seen the indicators. There are traditional signs however Liv by no means actually had any of the actually traditional signs. However 98 per cent of her blood was leukemic, so she was very sick."
Medics informed the household to not really feel responsible, because the fever was the beginning of the acute sickness, when the kid turns into very unwell, in a short time.
Liv needed to be remoted in a room on her personal for twenty-four hours as a result of covid earlier than she may very well be taken as much as the ward.
"The workers have been superb, the medical doctors and nurses and consultants have been astounding," mentioned Allan.
"On the time it was clearly very, very new, and really surreal, all these feelings going by way of your head.
"Now it is simply a part of our lives, it is daily. She has good days, she has dangerous days.
"Remedy for youths with leukaemia is lengthy, it is drawn out, a two-and-a-half-year course of for women and three years for boys. That is assuming that all the pieces goes to plan - and it by no means does.
"Liv has oral chemo each week and he or she goes in and has intrathecal chemo each month. She additionally attends clinic. The most important factor with this, and you do not know it till you expertise it, is the brutality of the chemo on the youngsters.
"The children deal with it higher than adults, so they provide them greater doses, however it causes ongoing, intensive therapy being required. So these children are confronted with this concern and anxiousness from that, in addition to creating life-altering modifications for a kid.
"A variety of them are growing emotionally, bodily, and intellectually. For instance, Liv has osteonecrosis, which is bone dying attributable to the steroids.
"So Liv has gone from being a 12-year-old child who was concerned with Glasgow gymnastics, coaching 4 days every week, to now hobbling round with a particular insole in her shoe to try to halt the progress of it. The situation is irreversible.
"So it is a lifelong side-effect of the most cancers therapy. It is brutal, and as a dad or mum to have to take a seat and watch this occur to your 12-year-old child, is horrendous.
"It is everlasting, it is irreversible. That is unhappy. However it's what it's. She's right here.
"We'll proceed to try to increase consciousness and funds for different children who're going to be recognized and are having to take care of the issues Liv's having to take care of."
Allan mentioned he felt compelled to tackle the charity problem after changing into disillusioned with funding for kids's most cancers.
He mentioned: "Youngsters's most cancers is massively underfunded because it's deemed to be uncommon. Solely two per cent of funding goes in direction of youngsters's most cancers. There are 13 children a day recognized within the UK with most cancers, 5 of them with leukaemia.
"So, 4,500 children however that is deemed as 'uncommon' by the federal government. So it takes organisations like Remedy Leukaemia to try to assist them. Issues like trials with remedy to assist try to assist and deal with our children.
"So, elevating cash and consciousness for leukaemia particularly was one thing I wished to do.
"The final medicine that had been developed for Liv's therapy had been 44 years in the past.
"Of these 4,500 children who're recognized, 450 lose their lives. We're comparatively fortunate in that Liv has a comparatively excessive success charge by way of treatment, for her particular situation."
Liv's weekly routine now could be to go to a clinic to have her bloods checked, and get chemo primarily based on these outcomes. Her therapy includes the therapy being given by way of a lumbar puncture in her backbone.
"Leukaemia hides in spinal columns and brains, so this chemo goes into the spinal column proper into the mind to try to catch any leukaemia that is hiding there," mentioned Allan.
"It is brutal in that sense. There are numerous levels to her therapy, primarily induction, consolidation, and upkeep, and he or she's now in upkeep, which is the ultimate half, however the longest half.
"Clearly we try to eradicate it utterly. However once more you might have a scenario the place 25% of kids relapse, and are recognized with the identical factor once more or one other kind.
"As a dad or mum, there's nothing we are able to do medically, we are able to solely assist her, and take the recommendation of the medical doctors.
"As a household we take care of it daily. The primary thought once I get up daily is, 'Is immediately going to be the day?'
"You attempt to be as constructive as doable, and we're, in the primary. She's unimaginable. Her spirit is indomitable, her will is completely fierce. She most likely retains us sane.
"When she was first in and informed she would lose her hair she determined she wished to donate her hair to Little Princes Belief, who use the hair to make children who're going by way of chemo or have alopecia, issues like that.
"One of many nurses was going to do it as a result of she was beforehand a hairdresser, however she wasn't allowed as a result of covid, so I ended up having to chop off my daughter's hair, which was a loopy scenario as effectively.
"However she managed to lift £10,000 for the charity. She's remained actually constructive. She's an awesome child, she's managed to maintain up along with her college work as effectively.
"Her 'warfare cry' is that she simply needs issues to be regular. So that is what we attempt to obtain for her every day; a level of normality in amongst all of the insanity."
Holidays have needed to be placed on stand-by as a result of Liv's situation, with a part of the therapy which means she's unable to fly.
Nevertheless, she will probably be assembly her dad in Paris on the finish of the charity cycle, making her means by practice by way of the Channel Tunnel.
Allan mentioned that of the £157million donated by the UK Authorities to Most cancers Analysis, solely two per cent went to devoted analysis funding for kids and younger adults' analysis and funding, which he feels is "unfair to the purpose of being discriminatory".
He mentioned: "That is 3.1million, so in case you break that down by the 4,500 children who're recognized with a type of most cancers yearly, the quantity spent on every youngster is £700.
"I discover that unacceptable, so it takes folks like us in these kinds of conditions to lift consciousness and funds for kids who're going to be in the identical scenario as Liv."
The top date for Liv's therapy in March 23 subsequent 12 months, however that's topic to how profitable her therapy has been.
Allan mentioned: "Fingers crossed and contact wooden all of it goes to plan. I am positive it'll.
"Liv has a giant sister Ellie, she's 19 and he or she's been very supportive with serving to Liv by way of the entire thing. And her mum, Abigail. We're a close-knit household. And we have now the assist of Liv's grandparents as effectively.
"The ideas that undergo your head as a dad or mum, I have been considerably unlucky in my life, I misplaced my mum to most cancers once I was 13, and my brother handed away aged 22 once I was 26.
"So, I've needed to take care of issues like that previously, however nothing units you up for coping with it when it is your individual child.
"You take care of these ideas in your head, you attempt to get on along with your day job, and also you attempt to make life as regular as doable, and be a standard household.
"And you're, in essence, however all the pieces's there, the reminders are there. Her hair has began to come back again in, which is a serious factor for youths with most cancers, however there are patches rising in that are not fairly proper.
"She's 14 immediately so we have to assist her as she grows from a toddler right into a younger lady, we have to be there for her emotionally, to know that she's okay."
Allan has cycled all his life, and had beforehand raised funds for Epilepsy Scotland, after his brother sadly died by way of the sickness.
"I raised funds for Epilepsy Scotland by biking from London to Paris, I additionally did a 10k run, issues like that," mentioned Allan.
"That is on an entire completely different stage, that is 3,500km, so a mean of 100 miles a day for 21 days. But it surely's doing it repetitively, day after day, which goes to be the largest problem.
"Making an attempt to suit it round life, work, Liv's therapy, household and all the pieces else - it truly is a problem.
"(All of the entrants) are tasked with elevating a portion of £1million, so it is £30,000 every, which we had been lucky sufficient to do very, in a short time.
"Coaching-wise it was troublesome all through the winter, however there are numerous on-line programmes you will get concerned in.
"My coaching was curtailed with Liv being recognized with osteonecrosis in December. Personally, I took that fairly exhausting, as a result of it is debilitating. She hobbles alongside and at occasions she finds it actually troublesome to stroll.
"She had a particular boot on which she really tripped over and dislocated her knee once more. So we had all that to take care of in addition to her therapy for the leukaemia.
"I form of 'misplaced my mojo' for 2 or three weeks, after which it was by way of the Christmas interval, however since then I have been again at it, full-on, doing 100 miles on the weekends and attempting to coach as many weeknights as doable.
"I will be comparatively effectively ready bodily, however it'll be these ideas in my head that can get me over these hills and to the end.
"When issues are exhausting I will be fascinated about Liv and youngsters in her scenario."
Anybody who needs to donate to Allan's charity cycle ought to go to his JustGiving web page.
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