A father who “refused to leave the hospital” after being told to see a GP was later diagnosed with terminal leukemia.
Gareth Dixon had pleaded with health personnel for vital blood tests after waiting 20 hours to be seen.
The 40-year-old, from Warrington, had gone to the emergency room with hip and ribcage pain.
He had called 111 before doing so, after his family became concerned about his severe chest pain.
Gareth said he’d struggled to get a face-to-face appointment at his local GP practice in the weeks before.
He had struggled with fatigue, thirst, and various other aches and pains.
When seen by a doctor at Warrington Hospital, Gareth claimed he should simply chase an appointment with his GP.
“I just refused to go anywhere until they gave me a blood test,” he said.
“They basically told me there was nothing wrong with me. I wouldn’t sit there for hours just to be told nothing was wrong.’
Gareth did have his blood drawn, but it wasn’t until the next morning that he met an adviser, he added.
Then he discovered he had an aggressive cancer called plasma cell leukemia.
While his experience leading up to his diagnosis was troubling, Gareth says the care he’s received since then has been “amazing.”
His wife, Laura Dixon, says she was “heartbroken” when she heard her husband’s diagnosis and still has “breakdowns” every few days when reality pushes her that he is terminally ill.
“He’s great,” she said.
What is plasma cell leukemia?
Plasma leukemia (PCL) is a rare and aggressive variant of multiple myeloma characterized by a very high number of plasma cells in the blood and bone marrow.
The distinction between multiple myeloma and plasma cell leukemia is based on the presence of a circulating peripheral blood plasma cell count of greater than 20% white blood cells and/or greater than 2×106/ml leukemia plasma cells in the peripheral blood.
“I’m so proud of him because he just keeps going. He’s really brave. I break every few days – it just gets on top of me. But he is so strong.
“I couldn’t stop crying when we found out. It was just heartbreaking.”
Gareth will soon undergo a stem cell transplant, which medics hope will put him in remission so that he can make special memories with Laura and his sons Lewis, 12, and Dom, 19, in the coming months.
The treatment involves the 40-year-old going into isolation for a month before receiving intensive chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells before reintroducing his stem cells into his body.
“For the last week or so, I was ready to give up. I felt so bad,” Gareth said.
‘The drugs I was taking so they could harvest the stem cells made me feel very sick.
“I feel a lot better about myself now. I still have to take a nap every day, but I feel better. It was almost immediately after I did the procedure.”
Warrington Hospital has apologized for the delay Gareth experienced in the ER.
They have not received an official complaint from the 40-year-old, but have urged him to get in touch.
Responding to Gareth’s claims that he was struggling to get a GP appointment, an NHS Cheshire and Merseyside spokesperson said Warrington’s GP practices face ‘significant challenges’.
Efforts are underway to improve access to appointments.
Gareth and his family have now decided to enjoy their time together and have prepared a bucket list.
They hope to tick it off in several stages in the coming months.
One of Gareth’s biggest dreams is to visit Maine, in the US, for the Stephen King tour and to try Maine lobster.
He would also like to swim with a great white shark, visit Loch Ness and see real ‘dark skies’ at night.
His family hopes to raise more than £5,000 to give Gareth and Laura the chance to make these memories once his stem cell transplant is complete.
To donate to Gareth’s bucket list visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/live-a-little-make-some-memories?qid=4eb05b1b0965da4578c90d98f9c04010
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