Alastair Gallichan, 32, from Jersey but living in Wandsworth, is our second Marathon Mondays runner, in our countdown to the Virgin Money London Marathon on April 26th. He's running not only the London Marathon, but amazingly also a 100 mile ultra marathon, to thank the charity that saved his father’s life.
His father Bruce Gallichan, 61, had a lifesaving bone marrow transplant after we found him a matching donor.
Bruce was diagnosed with Acute Lymphobastic Leukemia in July 2013 after suffering chronic fatigue and chest pains. These chest pains were caused by a perforated ulcer which doctors ran blood tests on and results revealed he in fact had cancer.
Alastair says: “He was going to play golf and became physically exhausted after just two or three holes and had to go home to sleep. At the time he was more concerned about the chest pains he was experiencing. Ironically, the investigatory results from the ulcer gave doctors a head start in the race against time for his treatment.”
“It was a massive shock for us to hear it was cancer, absolutely horrific, especially for me having to hear this bombshell over the phone...”
Bruce, who lives in Jersey, was flown over to Bournemouth the next morning and started chemotherapy the following week. Bruce’s family was told that his only hope of a long term cure was a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. They turned to the charity Anthony Nolan, which searched its register of potential donors for a suitable match.
In January 2014 the family heard the news that we had found a match for Bruce, with the transplant taking place the following month. Bruce, along with his family, has recently celebrated his first anniversary post transplant.
Alistair and Bruce celebrate his one-year transplant anniversary
“It was just awesome to hear there was a match; we know how lucky he was to find one. Thank god there are people who are willing to sign up and donate to this wonderful cause. It is impossible to articulate what this donor has done. This person has literally saved my father’s life.”
Now Alastair is determined to give something back by running the 2015 London Marathon, along with his ultra, to help raise awareness for the importance of joining the register.
“It does not even bear thinking about what would have happened to my father without the donor. As I am too old to register, this is a great way to give something back and help save other people’s lives.”
“My family and I went to hell and back and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. This illness has a possible cure and it’s people who sign up to the register. To give a person’s family a second chance is an amazing thing to do.”
Inspired by Alistair's story? To sponsor his marathon effort visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AlastairGallichan.