Dad of boy with cancer speaks out
The dad of a brave five-year-old boy fighting cancer has opened up on his experience to help others.
Bruce Patterson, 55, from Alloway, has watched his son Marc go through intense treatment for leukaemia with daily chemotherapy for nearly a year.
The Patterson family were able to get a welcome break from the stresses of life with a stay at Whiteleys Retreat.
Wife Colette and Marc’s big brother Matthew, 10, and seven-year-old sister Sarah all enjoyed a special New Year’s week escape to the retreat. The Post previously reported how Marc was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia last February.
Bruce, a former Scottish International cricket star with 125 caps, told the Post: “I think Whiteleys is a great idea. Life is pretty intense when you’ve got a sick child especially one with cancer. It involves daily chemotherapy sessions, Colette takes care of it all. It was nice to have a change in environment, away from our house which is full of medical stuff. You try and make life as normal as you can, but you can’t get away from the fact that there are hospital visits, and you are constantly worried.”
The gaming-daft Alloway primary one pupil loved his stay at the retreat. Bruce has been amazed by his sons incredible show of strength and the spirit of his nurse trained wife of four years.
He added: “It is brutal what Marc has to go through but he’s just been incredible, he has shown so much resilience it is inspiring.
Bruce says the experience for him has been life-changing and he wants to urge other dads going through trauma to talk it out. He added: “Men around my age tend not to talk openly about their feelings, epsecially when they are under pressure, but I have found that talking really helps. “I’ve got a family with three kids; I’ve had to hold it together at times, but having a network of people to speak to, just friends, it makes such a difference.
“This whole experience has really changed how I deal with things. It turns your world upside down.
“You no longer live in the future. What it teaches you is to enjoy today because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”