When Co Tyrone man Paul Carlin faced a third battle with cancer, his four younger brothers immediately stepped up to try and help.
Sixteen months ago, 35-year-old Paul received a devastating diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, an illness that he had faced down twice before.
Despite receiving the all-clear 13 years earlier, in October 2020 Paul was devastated to learn the disease had come back.
The Strabane man was just 18 when first diagnosed with the cancer, which then returned three years later.
Paul, who had settled and made a new life for himself in Manchester, returned home following his latest diagnosis.
After seven months of chemotherapy at Altnagelvin Hospital, he was told the next stage of treatment for him was a stem cell transplant.
Determined to help, Paul's four brothers all put themselves forward to be tested as a donor but only one, Conor, was a tissue match.
Each brother had a 20% chance of being a match and thankfully Conor was that life-saving match.
Last year 32-year-old Conor and his teammates at Strabane Athletic Football Club launched a major fundraising campaign to assist the family with the medical expenses they faced as Paul underwent intensive treatment.
A GoFundMe page was set up and donations soon began to pour in, with thousands raised within the first week alone.
Fundraising events to help with Paul’s treatment, travel, medicines and accommodation included a 5k walk/run and several raffles.
Thanks to the generosity of the people of Strabane, they eventually raised more than £31,000.
For Conor, when it came to helping out his big brother, it was "a no-brainer".
“You’d do it for a stranger if you were told they were a match, never mind your older brother," he added.
Paul underwent the treatment in Belfast over Christmas after Conor had his stem cell harvest at the City Hospital back in September.
After spending five weeks in a sealed room in isolation with no family or friends there to put an arm around him when things got rough, Paul is now back home with his family including mum Gemma and dad Chris, Conor and another brother Tom. His other two brothers, John and Jack, live in Liverpool and Manchester respectively.
"I feel like I've been fighting for the last year and a half but now I can stop that fight and focus on my recovery," a relieved Paul told Belfast Live.
Recalling the past few months, he explained: "I was supposed to have the transplant a few months ago but unfortunately I had a relapse so in the months leading up to Christmas, I was having quite intense chemotherapy.
"Once I got the all clear, I was able to have the transplant but even though I was cancer free, the doctors had to neutralise my immune system before planting Conor's cells into me,” he added.
“It actually happened on Conor’s birthday - December 20 - so that's definitely a date that neither of us will ever forget. I was supposed to get him something for his birthday so I'll really have to step up to the plate later this year with a pretty decent present!"
Paul added: "Mum and dad and my brothers have been looking after me really well since I got home from hospital on January 7th. I've been trying to put the feet up and relax as much as possible while also navigating my way through the side effects of the treatment, mainly nausea, as I'm still on a lot of medication.
"I still have to go to Belfast once a week for check-ups but that's already down from twice weekly because they're happy with my progress so far."
Paul is also looking forward to a belated Christmas celebration with his whole family later this month.
"Spending Christmas in hospital was a bit grim even though mum brought up loads of decorations and lights, including a tree and loads of cards. My brother was outside one night and told me that my room on the tenth floor stood out from all the others because it looked like a disco with all the lights," he laughed.
"Jack and John are coming back over to Strabane from England at the end of January when we are going to celebrate Christmas properly as a family. It's going to be amazing to have everyone back together again, get the Christmas tunes on, open presents and have mum's turkey dinner."
Extending his thanks to everyone in Strabane who has supported him and his family, Paul added: "I'm so thankful to everyone for their well wishes, prayers, cards, kind gifts and encouraging words over the past 16 months. They'll mean more to me than you know.
"The level of care I received in Ward 10 North of Belfast City Hospital has been unparalleled and I'm so grateful to all the doctors and nurses who took care of me but most importantly, gave me another crack at life.
"One thing I've taken away from all this is that life is so fragile and far too short. I know how incredibly fortunate I've been and I'll be making the most of life from now on and looking nowhere but forward.
"I’ve loads to look forward to including being best man at John’s wedding in July and then hopefully I'll go travelling for a while."
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