‘Dying’ patient who blew £50k is still alive ... 15 years later!
WHEN Ron Adams learned that terminal lung cancer was going to bring his retirement to an abrupt end, he went on a spending spree.
Aged 69 at the time, he blew £20,000 on a Mercedes SLK and £3,650 on koi carp after being told he had three months to live.
He gave wads of cash to his two sons and made sure a new kitchen, bathroom and drive were installed so his wife, Sheila, wouldn’t have to worry about updating them when he was gone.
The former building surveyor went through £50,000 to go out with a bang – but, 15 years later, he is still alive.
‘We all make mistakes. And that’s a mistake I’m very glad they made,’ he said of the hospital prognosis yesterday.
Mr Adams, of Marston Green in Birmingham, went to his GP in October 2002 after developing a persistent cough. He was referred to Solihull Hospital for further tests and was advised to bring someone with him when he came back for the results.
‘They said it was cancer of the lung and it was terminal – that there was nothing they could do for me,’ the non-smoker said.
‘I remember asking how long I’d got and they said around three months. It was a bit of a shock. I was stunned. Honestly, I didn’t feel that unwell.’ After the diagnosis, he was determined to realise a few ambitions and help out his family before he died. The Mercedes came with a £1,000 personalised number plate. He also bought a gas-guzzling Chevrolet Camaro and indulged his passion for pre-war model cars, bringing the total he owned to 507.
A koi carp was bought for £950 but then Mr Adams worried it would be lonely, so he added half a dozen more at £450 each. Thousands more went on renovations at his house.
The first indication that things might not be quite as bad as first thought came six months after the bombshell diagnosis.
When his breathing became laboured one day, he went to Heartlands Hospital, where doctors told him the cancer was slow-growing and could be shrunk with radiotherapy.
Mr Adams, who is 84 and recently celebrated his 62nd wedding anniversary, still has cancer. But he said: ‘There’s a message here. Even the doctors don’t get it right all the time. You should never lose hope.’