SISTER PROVED A PERFECT

JOE and Grace Hardman have a bond few other siblings can match.

They may be a few years apart in age – but their closeness was cemented when Grace donated bone marrow for Joe’s vital cancer treatment.

Joe, from Brandon, County Durham, was 17 and busy making plans for his future when his world was ripped apart by a shock cancer diagnosis.

At first, mum Joanne thought Joe’s sudden vomiting and stomach pains were the results of bolting down a big dinner one evening.

A visit to the doctor, after Joe’s condition failed to improve, initially reassured the family: it looked like “something viral” his GP said.

But as things got worse and worse, a visit to A&E saw Joe rushed into emergency surgery, where surgeons removed tumours from his bowel, before transferring him to the RVI.

Joanne said: “The consultants and staff worked all weekend trying to find a diagnosis as Joe had no previous history or symptoms.

“We were told on the Monday that he had acute myeloid leukaemia and treatment needed to be started immediately.

“Three days of tests and procedures followed and on the Friday chemotherapy started.

“Our life as we knew it stopped and turned upside down. Things still aren’t back to normal.”

After three rounds of chemotherapy, beset by infections and complications, Joe still faced a high risk of relapse, and the family were told he needed a bone marrow transplant.

Joanne said: “It was a huge shock to learn he would need a transplant, and then you have the added worry of finding a match and what would happen if they can’t find one.

“A sibling is more likely to be a match than a parent, but we’re very lucky that Grace was a 100% match because it’s only about a 25% chance that a sibling will be.”

Now 19, Joe still visits the hospital every two weeks, but treatment is “going to plan”. And his bond with Grace, now 13, is stronger than ever.

Joanne said: “He was just making his way out in life, so he wasn’t really in the house a great deal. Because of his illness they became a lot closer, and with Grace being the match it had a real effect, it made them a lot, lot closer.”

Wanting to thank the doctors, nurses and researchers who cared for Joe, the