‘I thought I had a bad cold – I had no idea until I collapsed in A&E’

Sheffield grandfather Ashley Gray, 59, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia after initially mistaking his symptoms for a bad cold. A stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor saved his life, and his experience prompted him to become a non-emergency patient transport worker, helping others receive care.

Gray collapsed after being taken to A&E with a fever during Christmas week in 2022; tests found his healthy blood counts were extremely low. He had blood transfusions, several rounds of chemotherapy and a seven-week hospital stay before receiving his transplant on 16 May 2023. He remains cancer-free, while clinicians say advances in monitoring, maintenance treatment and transplant care are helping improve outcomes. NHS figures cited in the article say around 3,100 people in the UK are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia each year.