Nathaniel

Nathaniel was 10 years old when his mum Gill discovered a lump on his neck.  After heading straight to A&E he was scheduled for an operation to remove the lump.  The family were told it wasn’t cancerous, but after the operation, Nathaniel was diagnosed with Clear Cell Sarcoma of Tendons and Aponeuroses (soft parts), an incredibly rare and very aggressive form of cancer, which can spread to any part of the body.  Gill remembers, “ Our whole world fell apart.  You hear the word cancer and just think ‘Oh God!’.  There’s not much research about this type of cancer, and everything we found said ‘poor prognosis’ or ‘low survival rate’.“

On Christmas day Nathaniel’s neck swelled up and his parents, suspecting a Haemorrhage, ended up at Alder Hey Hospital. Nathaniel had another operation to remove more tissue from his neck, followed by 6 weeks of intensive high –dose radiotherapy.  Gill said ‘During this time I had the worst conversations I’ll ever have in my life, with Nathaniel telling me how he wanted his funeral, and asking if his little brother would remember him.  I’d try and keep my composure when talking to him, then go upstairs and just let it all out. When the nurse at hospital asked if Nathaniel would be interested in the Ellen MacArthur Trust sailing trip. I thought it sounded right up his street.  After everything he’d been through, we were all really excited when he was offered a place.”

Nathaniel came sailing with the Trust in 2009, saying “I felt great when we were all out on the water, and I was able to meet other people who’d had cancer and made loads of friends.  I learnt how to sail, and how to duck a waterbomb!  It was fun.”

Gill added “Nathaniel was always a joker but because of the cancer he had lost his spark, everything was serious. He came back from the trip smiling, much more like the old Nathaniel. He was a totally different boy”

Because of the rare nature of this cancer, Nathaniel will need regular check-ups his whole life, but he has now taken up horse riding, and will be going to Canada with the Army Cadets in the summer of 2010.  He just returned to sail with the Trust in the J. P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race where he and his crew got all the way round and still had the energy for a water-fight at the end!
Gill finishes, “We were heartbroken when we found out Nathaniel had cancer, but it has totally changed how we see things, and we now all live life to the full.  It’s definitely too short to waste!”