Thousands of people have signed up to save a single mum’s life after she was struck down with a rare cancer.
Rachael Nixon, from Kirkcaldy, is a lone parent to 15-month-old baby daughter Daisy and was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis in October after months of feeling unwell.
Myelofibrosis is aggressive bone marrow disease that disrupts the body’s normal production of blood cells. The typical life expectancy for sufferers is six years.
The 39-year-old’s only hope for a cure is a bone marrow transplant, and as she grows weaker by the day, Rachael desperately needs the public’s help to find a match.
More than 2000 people have now joined the blood stem cell donor register in just a matter of weeks in a bid to help Rachael and Daisy have a future together.
Sharing her gratitude for all the strangers who have rushed to support her, Rachael said: “I’m so overwhelmed that people want to save my life. But I also hope I can make a difference and get the donor numbers up.
“I might not get a match, but someone else might, and it could save another life. So it’s also my plan to raise as much awareness as I can.”
Children’s nurse Rachael first put feeling unwell down to the effects of juggling life as a new mum, as well as her job. Daisy was premature and Rachael had gone through a C-section, but she was struggling with fatigue, dizzy spells and vomiting.
But it was after spending time with a friend who also has cancer that she realised something more serious might be going on.
She continued: “I knew something was off in July when I was climbing a small hill with my step-dad and I just didn’t think I was going to make it.
“Then shortly after, I was at a friend’s party and I could hardly dance for 20 seconds before needing to sit down.
“The next day, I went to help my friend who is battling colon cancer on a walk, but in the end, she needed to help me.
“I looked at myself in the mirror that day and I thought I looked just like my friend. I was pale and had lost a lot of weight.
“I got bloods taken by my GP and they told me something wasn’t right within two hours and that I needed to go back in.
“I ended up in hospital in August getting weekly blood transfusions. After six weeks of testing, they diagnosed me.”
Rachael has gone from climbing some of the highest mountains in the world to barely being able to catch her breath on a walk to the shops.
She added: “The effects of this cancer are brutal. You can see the reality of what it is doing to my body from my pictures.
“My immune system is just shot, so I’m picking up every bug going.
“I’ve gone from hiking mountains to barely being able to walk to the shops. Just walking to the end of my street feels like impossible.”
But despite her exhaustion, Rachael has vowed to keep fighting for little Daisy.
She said: “I just want to be healthy enough to be the best mummy for Daisy. If you look at the stats for surviving this illness, they don’t give much hope and the thought that I might not be here for Daisy is terrifying.
“But it’s her that’s giving me the strength to get through this. She is the reason I keep fighting.”
You can sign up to the stem cell donor register through the blood cancer charity DKMS. More information here.
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