‘Support has been source of strength’
TERMINALLY ill Leighton Dutton has nothing but gratitude for the friends and family who have come together to make his final months even more special.
From his former employer – General Electric in Nantgarw – to his mates down the pub, the “overwhelming support” has provided no little comfort for Leighton and his family.
In March, Leighton – married to Rebecca and with two children, Scarlett, six, and Freddie, three – was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.
“Before Christmas he was having numbness in his left arm,” said Rebecca, 29, who is a trainee solicitor. “To start with we put it down to sleeping awkwardly. Then it started happening in the day.
“Then his face dropped and it seemed like he was having a stroke.
“They did some scans and they took us into the family room to tell us.
“It was shock, utter shock. We were not expecting it at all. We had been joking around beforehand and I had been saying he was a drama queen.
“He had two tumours and they operated in February. They removed one tumour and the other was inoperable.
“They sent the one they had removed off for tests and it was a glioblastoma tumour, which is the most aggressive.
“That is when they gave him the prognosis of 15 months.”
Leighton stopped his job of 12 years as an aircraft engineer and Rebecca took a break from her career to support him. They planned to spend time together and make every day count.
What they hadn’t anticipated was the outpouring of warmth, support and love from the people of Barry and the rest of South Wales. “The support has just been utterly overwhelming,” said Leighton. “I don’t know how to take it. “It has been a real source of strength and support.
“I do miss work. All of my colleagues have been in contact. I work at General Electric in Nantgarw and worked there for 12 years. My old managers have also been in touch.
“It helps to take the financial burden away so we can concentrate on spending time together as a family.
“Barry is a small town with a big heart.” Among the huge range of people in the town who have been raising money to support the couple have been Barry Town Utd organising a fundraising night; Barry rugby club doing the three peaks; boxer Lee Selby donating memorabilia; cake sales, raffles and wedding day collections.
“It is a small town so as soon as news gets out it flies,” said Rebecca.
“We didn’t really want to go public but the boys who did the three peaks did a GoFundMe page and it did amazing. Leighton put how proud he was to be from Barry on it.
“The response has been overwhelming to Leighton and myself. To have hard-working people put their hand in their pocket for us means a lot.
“Leighton has had to give up work and I have taken a break to support him. The donations have massively helped us to spend more time together without having to worry.
“We can’t walk down the street without someone stopping us to ask if he is okay.” “It can be hard to go from having a normal life to people coming up to you and knowing you are fighting illness. But what is the best way to support someone who is facing a bleak prognosis?
According to Leighton, treating them normally is one of the best things you can do.
He said: “Obviously it is so nice to have so many people support us. It is strange I have gone from having a hectic normal life to not working.
“My friends are good at treating me in the same way they have always done. We still go for coffee or down to the pub (although I just have squash now). We still take the mick out of each other.”
There are also small, practical gestures people can do that can go a long way to maximising someone’s time with their family. “Know that the messages do help,” said Rebecca. “We have a big family and we stick together as a family.
“Leighton has had radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The radiotherapy makes him very fatigued and it was hard for him to get out of bed and even stand up without exhausting himself.
“People came round to make the garden look neat so he would have somewhere to sit.”
The couple have not given up and are remaining positive and enjoying their time together.
“I am determined to beat this,” he said. “I am going to be around to watch my kids grow up. It does change your perspective. Every day when I wake up I say a ‘thank you’ for waking up.
“It is very important to be positive and I think people respond to your positivity. If I am upbeat people support you and will say things like ‘you are definitely going to beat this’.
“We will be going to Center Parcs – that will be the fourth time this year. I can’t fly because of how the insurance is, but Center Parcs has been great.”