A stepfather tragically lost his battle with cancer just weeks after being diagnosed.
Beth Hunt, 42, from the UK, experienced the devastating loss of her stepfather Ronnie Haston last April, just two weeks after he was admitted to the hospital due to alarming symptoms.
Ronnie, who was 68, had been struggling with sudden health issues that appeared weeks before his diagnosis.
Despite consulting a doctor, Ronnie’s symptoms were initially attributed to constipation, and he was scheduled for a blood test two weeks later.
However, as he awaited the tests, Ronnie’s condition worsened, prompting his partner, Anne, to take him to the emergency department.
At the hospital, examinations revealed Ronnie’s kidney function had severely declined to 14 percent, and his calcium levels were dangerously high.
Beth recalled, “It was two weeks from admission to hospital until he died.”
“He was fit and healthy with no pre-existing health conditions.”
“It came as a complete shock to all of us. He didn’t have the chance to enjoy even one day of retirement with my mum or embark on the future plans they had made together.”
“It started with constipation, for which the GP prescribed laxatives. He experienced extreme fatigue and muscle pain.”
“He just didn’t look right.”
Ronnie was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer, but sadly passed away after falling ill with pneumonia.
Beth said, “They’d planned to start chemo and had a full treatment plan.”
“They considered him a good candidate for a stem cell transplant.”
“He received two rounds of chemo while severely ill with pneumonia, and two days later he passed away.”
“He essentially went into multi-organ failure. It’s shocking, completely shocking.”
“It’s not the people’s fault, it’s the system’s fault—the series of errors and the waiting.”
“We kept insisting, ‘He needs a blood test,’ but he was unable to get one for two weeks.”
“How is that acceptable in this day and age?”
“If someone is unwell, you need the blood test now. Even in the hospital, it was too little too late.”
“The important thing for me is educating GPs. The symptoms of myeloma can be vague and not evident.”
“You might attribute them to muscle ache and fatigue, but these should be red flags for a GP, especially in someone without underlying conditions and who rarely visited a GP, except for cellulitis from mosquito bites.”
“If Ronnie hadn’t been so unwell by the time he was admitted to the hospital, he would have been in a better position to fight it.”
In memory of Ronnie, Beth will be participating in the Edinburgh Marathon to raise funds for Myeloma UK.
“I registered for the Edinburgh Marathon on the evening of Ronnie’s funeral,” she stated.
“When I ran a 10-mile race eight years ago, my mum and Ronnie were my greatest supporters.”
“They rushed across Edinburgh to cheer me on at various points.”
“It’s my first marathon, but when I commit to something, I see it through.”
“I know I can handle at least half of it, but I’ll have to push through the final six miles.”
“I think of Ronnie and my mum when I run – the past year without him has been difficult for her.”
“If she can face each day without him and keep moving forward, then I can take it one step at a time too.”
Beth expressed her admiration for Ronnie, who had been a part of her life since she was 19.
“You don’t truly appreciate the impact someone has until they are gone,” she reflected.
“He was a gentle man. Always someone you could rely on. He never judged, always supported, and was always there.”
You can visit Beth’s JustGiving page here.