'I was tired all the time - after a blood test the police turned up at my door'

Andrew Moyens, 52, was a fit and active man when a series of health issues hit him like a bolt out of the blue - leaving him shattered and wiped out over the Christmas period in 2022.

Andrew Moyens couldn't believe his eyes when the police arrived at his doorstep mere hours after he'd been for medical tests. The officers conveyed the urgent message that his life hung in the balance, instructing him to hastily pack a bag before escorting him to the hospital.

At 52 years of age, Andrew had always led a healthy life, never smoked, and considered himself quite fit, yet a sudden spate of health issues over Christmas 2022 left him completely drained. Reflecting on the harrowing experience, Andrew recounted: "I was falling asleep between jobs and had a terrible chest infection that had me waking up from sleep unable to breathe.

"At times, I felt scared I might die, it was so difficult to catch my breath. It was becoming increasingly difficult to walk even 400 yards, without having to stop four or five times to get my breath back."

Despite seeking help from his GP and being prescribed antibiotics among other medications, his energy levels failed to improve.

Andrew, who works in the automotive sector as a self-employed car inspector and delivery driver, felt pressured not to take leave prior to the holiday season. The determined Brummie shared: "I am normally quite an active guy - I play golf regularly, don't smoke and consider myself reasonably fit. But I ended up having to take a week off work, during which time I slept for three days and barely got out of bed."

"Over Christmas, I was still not right. I hardly joined in with all the celebrations and barely drank. My wife couldn't understand what was up with me. I was just so tired all the time", reports the Mirror.

A separate visit to the GP led to immediate blood tests for Andrew, who returned home only to find himself too exhausted to even take down the Christmas tree. "I remember being too exhausted to take down the Christmas tree and lay on the sofa watching my wife putting all the decorations away," he said.

"We joke about it now, but at the time, she wondered why I was lying around watching her do all the hard work!" Their 13 year old daughter was taken to a dance lesson by Andrew's wife as he felt too tired to accompany her.

Andrew revealed: "At about 9:20pm, there was a knock at the door. I assumed it was my daughter arriving back from dance. But when I went to the door, there were two police officers standing there. They explained that the doctor had been trying to reach me all day, but because I had not seen any of the texts and had not responded, they had been sent to do a drive past to check that I was okay. They told me that my blood tests that morning had revealed there was a danger to my life - I should pack an overnight bag and they would accompany me to the hospital straight away."

Andrew was rushed to A&E, where medics discovered his white blood cells were "through the roof" and "attacking each other". He underwent an emergency blood transfusion and a bone marrow biopsy to investigate the cause of his exhaustion.

The next day, on January 5th, a doctor delivered the devastating news: Andrew had acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Andrew recalled: "I really knew nothing about leukaemia at the time. My only awareness, being an Aston Villa fan, was that Stiliyan Petrov had it. Of course, it was a very frightening diagnosis. Being told you have cancer makes you fear the worst and all sorts of thoughts go through your head. The doctor offered to call my wife and explain everything to her, and it was hard to hear her crying over the phone."

Andrew required a bone marrow transplant, and fortunately, both his brother and sister were 100% matches.

His brother volunteered to be the donor, and to minimize health risks, Andrew was only allowed to see his wife, and was separated from his daughter for a month. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude by saying: "I will be eternally grateful for all the medical care I received at every level, but I also couldn't have got through this without the love and devotion of my wife and daughter, and the support and encouragement from my brother-in-law.

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"They were my only link to the outside world during my darkest days in hospital. Being surrounded by people that care really is vital to a positive mental attitude which definitely helped me in my fight against my diagnosis."

He then reflected on his journey and continued: "I have always been very positive and always knew that I was going to fight this and get through it for my family. I have been strong all along and mentally, I feel stronger now than ever. The whole experience has 100% changed me though. My outlook on life is very different these days. I am much calmer and will not allow myself to get stressed or angry. What's the point when you can't change what you can't change?"

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