A dad says he refused to leave an A&E department until he had blood tests after suffering from chest pains. After insisting on the tests, he was given a devastating terminal diagnosis.
Gareth Dixon, from Warrington in Cheshire, went to hospital earlier this year after, he said, being unable to get an appointment with his GP. He had been experiencing fatigue, thirst and aches and pains.
The 40-year-old dad-of-two said he kept trying to see a doctor but was unable to get a face-to-face appointment. He says he could only get through on the phone, at which point he claims he was just told to go for blood tests several days later, reports CheshireLive.
But, when he began to get chest paints a day later, his family told him he had to call the NHS 111 number. Gareth then went to Warrington Hospital's A&E department, where he spent 20 hours.
Gareth, who was also enduring hip and rib cage pain, said that when he was seen, he was told to chase his GP for an appointment. However, Gareth stood firm.
He said: “I just refused to go anywhere until they had given me a blood test. They basically told me there was nothing wrong with me. I wasn’t going to sit there for hours to be told nothing was wrong.”
According to Gareth, his bloods were finally taken, but he wouldn’t see another doctor until the following morning, when a consultant arrived to inform him that he was suffering with an aggressive form of cancer - Plasma Cell Leukaemia.
Dr Paul Fitzsimmons, executive medical director at Warrington and Halton Hospitals, said: "We are extremely sorry to learn of Mr Dixon’s diagnosis and do hope that he is keeping as well as possible under the circumstances. Upon presentation to us on March 6, 2022, some 48 hours after he had been in contact with his GP, Mr Dixon spent a total of 20 hours in our Ambulatory Care unit.
"During this time we were able to carry out physical examination, a full range of tests and provide a definitive diagnosis, arrange referral to the consultant haematologist and an inpatient treatment plan for his condition. We have not received any complaints from Mr Dixon, but do urge him to contact our PALS team on whh.pals.nhs.net if he wishes to raise concerns about any element of his care."
Following Gareth's long ordeal through the hospital's emergency department, he would not leave the hospital for another five days. He was kept in while a plan for his care was put in place. He said that, following the diagnosis, the treatment and care he has received has been "amazing".
He added: “I had gone in thinking I was either diabetic, as everyone in my family is, or that it was prostate cancer with the symptoms that I had. So I sort of had that mindset - but it was a shock for it to be leukaemia. With prostate cancer if you catch it early enough you can make a full recovery, but with leukaemia there isn’t really a cure as such we just have to try and keep it at bay.”
Starting on chemotherapy just days later, Gareth immediately started to feel tired and unwell, parking his job as a sign fitter while he underwent the intense treatment course. His wife Laura said she was "heartbroken" on hearing her husband’s diagnosis and still has "breakdowns" every couple of days when the reality hits her that he is terminally ill.
“He is amazing,” said Laura, who married Gareth back in 2016. “I am so proud of him because he is just getting on with it. He is being really brave. I break down 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.”
As part of his treatment Gareth will undergo a stem cell transplant, which doctors hope will put him into remission for a few months to allow him to make precious memories with Laura and his sons Lewis, 12, and Dom, 19. The treatment entails Gareth going into isolation for a month before receiving intense chemotherapy, to kill the cancer cells, before his stem cells are reintroduced into his body.
“The last week or so I was ready for giving up. I felt that bad,” he said. “The drugs I was on so they could harvest the stem cells made me feel really ill.
“I feel a lot better in myself now. I still need to nap every day, but I am feeling better. It was almost instant after I had the procedure done.”
In response to Gareth's claims that he struggled to get a GP appointment while suffering from a then-undiagnosed terminal illness, a spokesperson for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside said Warrington GP practices are facing 'significant challenges'.
The spokesperson said: "We’re unable to comment on individual cases for patient confidentiality reasons. In line with the rest of the country, all Warrington GP practices continue to face significant challenges with increasing demand on their services. Practices are working with partners across Cheshire and Merseyside to improve access to appointments."
Gareth and his family have now decided to make the most of their time together, not knowing what the future holds or when he may deteriorate. The optimistic dad has written a bucket list which the family are trying to tick off in stages as Gareth goes through his treatment.
One of his biggest dreams is to visit Maine, USA, for the Stephen King tour and to try Maine lobster.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the states,” he said. “I would just love to go at Halloween because they’re really into it there.”
Laura added: “The list is something quite positive for us to do. If the treatment does work at all and puts him in remission it could be for six months to a year. People with myeloma - which is different but similar - they normally get about two years (after diagnosis) but he is at the lower end of that, so he may only have a year if it takes at all.”
Gareth’s family have set up a GoFundMe page to help Gareth achieve his bucket list dream, which also includes swimming with a great white shark, visiting Loch Ness and seeing the ‘dark skies’ at night. The family is hoping to raise more than £5,000 to give Gareth and Laura the chance to make these memories as soon as his stem cell transplant is complete.
To donate to Gareth’s bucket list see the page here.
