My friend Richard - by Mummy

I am going to tell you all about my friend Richard, I hope he doesn't mind. He's a very special friend of mine and is an amazing person. But you know the saying 'bad things happen to good people' well he is a perfect example. His brother is Alan who you may have heard me mention, but he is not to be confused with Blake's godfather as that is a different Richard. Alan and Richard lost their father just a few weeks ago. He died of cancer after being diagnosed around April 2010.


The thing is, Richard also has cancer, he was diagnosed around June 2009. I met Richard properly in May 09 at a car show and we clicked immediately. I remember him complaining of not feeling too well, now we know why! Richards chemotherapy started and his hair fell out a little, we all used to joke about the fact that he had a smooth bum. He always managed to make every one else laugh and smile even when he was feeling like crap. After finishing his treatment it was a bit of a waiting game to see if it had cleared, but he could live a fairly normal life... which meant going out and getting pissed... and the silly sod ended up breaking his foot/leg. When the results came back and he wasn't clear it was a shock to every body, but he managed to stay positive and just looked forwards to his treatment to finish again. This time around the chemo made him more poorly, it was alot more intense, he stayed in alot more.


Richard was in hospital when Blake was born, he had just had a stem cell transplant. He was desperate to meet Blake so we were all delighted when we could go visit him. Blake was 3 days old. He looked so tiny next to Richard, especially because he's a bit of a BFG at over 6ft tall!

It was great to see Richard, he was still so happy and bubbly and it was hard to believe that he had cancer.

Today I went to see Richard, unfortunately he still isn't clear. He has just been informed he has to have another stem cell transplant. This time everything will be even more intense and he will be stuck at home for at least 6 months after spending 6 weeks isolated in hospital. This sucks. I'm so gutted for him and I can tell he's really had enough now... His bubbles seem to have popped! However I am glad Blake seemed to put a smile on his face plenty of times, he is a little rascal after all. I wish I could do or think of something that would bring Richards bubbles back. He knows hes got a tough couple of years ahead of him so I will now be racking my brains to find a solution.

This is also inspiring me to do more for cancer research, think its about time they found a solution. I don't want Richard to suffer any more. He's too nice. He deserves to live a normal life with his girlfriend, friends and family. If only I was god and could put this right...