A man who spotted sudden heavy bruising on his arm was told he would have died within three weeks after he was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer.
Rhys Chambers' shock diagnosis came on the eve of his wedding to his fiancée, Mollie White, with the young couple forced to swap tying the knot in Las Vegas for regular trips to hospital.
Rhys, just 29, first noticed something wasn't right when he saw the bruising at work. He was rushed to hospital with a suspected meningitis rash, but was later diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia.
Rhys and 25-year-old Mollie - who have been together for five years - have been forced to cancel their dream US wedding in July as a result as he starts treatment.
Now, family and friends are trying to raise money to help give the Grimsby couple the day they deserve. To help their cause Mollie's sister, Lucy Wilson, has organised a sponsored walk from the Humber Bridge to Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham and is hoping to get as many people involved as possible, reports Grimsby Live.
Explaining how fast the couple's world was turned upside down, she said the first she heard of it was when Mollie sent her pictures of the unusual bruising on Rhys' arm. He was concerned enough to see a doctor about it straight after he finished work, she added.
Lucy said: "Immediately, the doctors said he needed to ring 999 and they thought it could be meningitis. When he got to the hospital, they measured the level of platelets in his blood.
"Normally they would be around 120,000 to 140,000, but Rhys' were at 12. It was at that point they thought he might have anaemia or leukaemia."
It was then they were told how serious it was. Lucy said: "We're just glad he went when he did because the doctors said if he hadn't then he would have been dead in three weeks."
Rhys was diagnosed at Grimsby's Diana Princess of Wales hospital and then transferred to Castle Hill Hospital in East Yorkshire, where he will undergo treatment. "It was just horrible to hear and it doesn't feel real still to be honest," said Lucy.
Sadly, the couple also lost all the money they'd put into their Las Vegas wedding because they hadn't yet taken out insurance to cover it. "They both love travelling and this would have been the wedding of their dreams," said Lucy.
"Rhys had been working every hour under the sun to make sure Mollie got the wedding she deserved too. It's been horrible watching my sister be so upset every day, having to work a full day and then travel to see Rhys at Castle Hill. I hate having to see her go through all this."
In a bid to give the couple something to look forward to, Lucy and other friends have decided to carry out a charity walk to help raise enough money to get the couple married in England.
Lucy said: "They would do anything for one another and we just want to make sure they get the wedding they deserve, we're hoping to raise as much as we can for them, but also to make people more aware of this type of cancer."
She added: "People always say, 'It'll never be me', but it was this time and you never know when it could be you." The family are urging anyone with similar symptoms to go to the doctors and get checked out to prevent this from happening to them.
Those doing the walk will be starting at the Humber Bridge, walking towards Castle Hill with some starting at Rhys' house in Grimsby. To donate to the fundraiser, click here.
READ NEXT:
- 'I thought my daughter just had an insect bite - then just months after her 21st birthday she was dead'
- New images show stunning plans to redevelop 'eyesore' Deansgate hotel
- 'My little boy literally saved my life'
- Police delayed seeing tragic TV journalist for nine days after she reported domestic abuse... two weeks later she was found dead
- "See...what happens when you take the pi**"...texts of alleged 'mastermind' of fatal attack on Thomas Campbell
